Ex-Goldman Sachs analyst jailed for insider dealing

Mohammed Zina

CNN: A former Goldman Sachs analyst was sentenced to 22 months in prison yesterday for using inside information to buy shares in listed companies and make more than 140,000 pounds (US $ 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 US $ 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.

But Zina was convicted of all nine charges Thursday, following a trial in a London court.
Judge Tony Baumgartner told him yesterday, “You betrayed the trust of your employer, as well as cheated honest investors in the shares you traded using inside information you saw at work.
What you did strikes at the very heart of our financial markets and the trust and confidence the public places in them.”
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said Thursday, “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.”