UK's FSA Fines Father, Son For Dealing On Inside Information

19th Jul 2010 11:00

LONDON (Dow Jones)--The U.K. Financial Services Authority Monday said it fined a father and son for trading on inside information about small cap oil explorer Tower Resources PLC (TRP.LN). Jeremy Burley was fined GBP144,200 and his father Jeffery was fined GBP35,000 for engaging in market abuse, the FSA said. The regulator said that on June 11, 2009, Jeremy Burley learned Tower Resources' first oil well in Uganda was unlikely to produce oil and a second well wasn't likely to be drilled at all. Burley was managing director of BMS Minerals at the time, a company that provided vehicles and equipment to oil explorers in the east African country. The FSA said Burley passed this information onto his father and instructed him to sell his entire holding of 790,000 shares in Tower Resources. By doing so, he avoided a loss of GBP21,700, the FSA said. The FSA said Burley told his father to sell his holding in several lots in a bid to avoid the regulator's attention. Both men agreed to settle the case. "The FSA will not tolerate people making a personal gain by trading on the basis of inside information," said Margaret Cole, the regulator's director of enforcement and financial crime. "Extraction of natural resources often involves many independent contractors. "This case should serve as a reminder to those in that industry that abuse of inside information--however obtained--will not pay," Cole added. -By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 19, 2010 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)