01 · In plain English
What happened.
The FSA published a Final Notice on 22 April 2010 fining Winterflood Securities Ltd £4,000,000 for market abuse connected to trading in Fundamental‑E Investments Plc. The regulator found Winterflood, acting as a market maker, mis‑used and delayed ‘rollovers’, creating a distortion in the market and misleading investors for about six months in 2004. The FSA said the trades had unusual features that should have alerted Winterflood to a clear and substantial risk of manipulation, but the firm continued the highly profitable trading rather than taking steps to ensure the trades were genuine. The FCA register records the action on 25 October 2010.
Summarised from the FSA's notice and press reports. The official text and documents below are the authoritative record.
02 · Enforcement details
What the FCA register says.
On 22 April 2010, the FSA published a Final Notice imposing a penalty on Winterflood Securities Ltd (Winterflood) of £4million for committing market abuse. The FSA found that Winterflood had played a pivotal role in an illegal share ramping scheme relating to Fundamental-E Investments Plc, an AIM listed company. In particular, Winterflood had mis-used rollovers and delayed rollovers thereby creating a distortion in the market for shares in Fundamental-E Investments Plc and misleading the market for about six months in 2004. The Fundamental-E Investment Plc share trades executed by Winterflood had a series of unusual features which should have alerted the market maker to the clear and substantial risk of market manipulation. Rather than taking steps to ensure that the trades were genuine, Winterflood continued their highly profitable trading.
03 · Firm details
Firm on the FCA register.
- Firm name
- WBS SOLUTIONS LIMITED
- Firm reference number
- 141455
- Register status
- Authorised
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