The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) carried out a joint operation on 13 October 2026, arresting three individuals suspected of involvement in a criminal insider dealing ring.
More than 100 FCA and NCA staff took part in searches at five residential premises in London and Manchester. Investigators seized more than 30 mobile phones, laptops and tablets as part of the operation. All three suspects were being interviewed by the FCA at police stations in London and Manchester.
Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Insider dealing is a serious threat to the integrity of our markets. Working with partners, we will continue to use all the powers at our disposal to crack down on serious and organised crime groups engaged in market abuse.”
The FCA said that in 2025/26 it secured four insider dealing convictions, two of which resulted in record sentences totalling 11 years of imprisonment. Separately, 12 people were fined a total of £1.77 million for insider dealing, market manipulation and making misleading statements.
The FCA has not released names or further details on the origin of the arrests, but noted that fighting financial crime is a priority in its five-year strategy. The operation follows a late-September joint action with the Metropolitan Police against organised crime involving alleged money laundering, in which the FCA investigated and shut down multiple firms.
