Insider trading laws do not need strengthening , says Government

THE GOVERNMENT says there is no need to strengthen the law on insider trading in light of the Fyffes-DCC case, in which DCC executive chairman Jim Flavin was found to have engaged in illegal trades when selling Fyffes shares.

Minister of State for Trade and Commerce John McGuinness stressed in a reply to a Dáil question that the law on market abuse had been "fully overhauled" since the insider trading in question in 2000.

"I believe companies generally take their responsibilities in this regard very seriously and I am also confident that the financial regulator will make full use of its powers in the event that any company does not act responsibly."

This represents the first public comment on the affair by any Government figure since the case was settled last month at a cost of €41 million to DCC. The Irish Association of Investment Managers is likely to decide in the next fortnight whether it will formally ask DCC to name a date for Mr Flavin's departure.

Labour TD Ciarán Lynch asked if the senior Minister in Mr McGuinness's department, Micheál Martin, was satisfied there was adequate legislation in place to deal with insider trading, and if he had plans to introduce any new legislation or provide new powers to the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Paul Appleby.

"The insider dealing in question took place in 2000, and it is a matter of public record that the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation investigated these events at the time. Any decision to initiate a criminal prosecution arising out of those events is a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions who is an independent officer of the State," Mr McGuinness said.

The Supreme Court and the High Court declined to utilise their power to disqualify any person in any proceedings if satisfied that certain serious misconduct had occurred when Mr Appleby drew their attention to such power, he said.

"It now falls to the director to consider if he can pursue the matter further . . . the director is a statutory officer who is independent in the performance of his compliance and enforcement duties under the Companies Acts."

The current law broadened the definition of market abuse and the financial regulator was the competent authority in such cases, he said. "The financial regulator has put in place a range of additional rules governing these matters and is currently well advanced in developing ambitious new systems for monitoring share trading."