Ex-Deloitte man linked to insider trading
A FORMER Deloitte tax partner in the States and his wife have been charged with leaking secrets about upcoming merger deals to family members at the City brokerage Blue Index, in a scheme that US regulators claim made $23m (£14.8m).
Arnold McClellan and his wife Annabel have been accused by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of passing details of at least seven deals to Annabel’s sister Miranda Sanders and her husband James, an owner at Blue Index.
The Sanders were charged with 17 counts of insider dealing by the FSA watchdog and bailed last week, and lawyers for the couple have said they will fight the charges.
The SEC contends that James Sanders tipped Blue Index clients and other individuals, who made approximately $20m by trading on the inside information.
Deals that McClellan allegedly leaked to his family in the UK include Microsoft’s 2007 acquisition of aQuantive and the delisting of Getty Images, according to the SEC’s civil complaint filed in the Californian courts.
Lawyers for Arnold McClellan said their client was “a conscientious, law-abiding professional with a 23-year unblemished track record of client service at Deloitte” and would fight the charges.
Deloitte spokesman Jonathan Gandal said the company is “shocked and saddened” by the allegations.
He added that Deloitte has cooperated fully with US regulators and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
FAST FACTS | INSIDER DEALING PROBE
The FSA shut down Blue Index and arrested co-owner James Sanders, his wife Miranda and three others in May 2009.
The five were charged with insider dealing last week and bailed until 20 December.