London — A former Goldman Sachs analyst was convicted Thursday of using inside information to buy shares in listed companies and make more than 140,000 pounds ($175,650).
Mohammed Zina, 35, was employed by Goldman Sachs International, a subsidiary of the bank, in London.
Prosecutors said he had used confidential information to buy shares in six companies between July 2016 and December 2017, including Arm with knowledge of the impending $32 billion acquisition of the British chip designer by SoftBank.
He had pleaded not guilty to six offenses of insider dealing and three counts of fraud for allegedly lying to Tesco Bank about the purpose of loans, which prosecutors said were used to buy the shares.
A spokesperson for the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which brought the prosecution, said Zina had been convicted of all nine counts following a trial at Southwark Crown Court in London. He will be sentenced on Friday.
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said: “Mohammed Zina betrayed the trust we placed in him, and his misuse of client information was in direct contradiction of our values. We have zero tolerance for this conduct.”
Steve Smart, the FCA’s joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “This conviction sends a clear message that economic crime is on our radar, and we will take action to uphold the integrity of UK markets.”
His brother Suhail Zina, formerly an associate at law firm Clifford Chance, had also stood trial but was cleared of all nine charges at the direction of the judge on February 5. Clifford Chance declined to comment.
Prosecutor Peter Carter told jurors at the start of the trial that Mohammed Zina had used “private, confidential, price-sensitive information” to invest on the stock exchange.
He said the internal policies of Goldman Sachs strictly forbid any use of confidential information acquired by the investment bank or its employees.
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