The Department of Trade and Industry normally brings insider-dealing charges, but the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is leading this prosecution. The money involved needs to be over 1m for the SFO to accept the case.
The prosecution alleges that between 1 June 1997 and 28 April 2001 Payne, Michael David Smith, 47, of Loughton, and Catherine Louise Spearman and Richard John Spearman, both 50 and from Epping, conspired together, and with others, to deal in securities based on privileged information obtained by Payne through his work at Burrups.
St Ives managing director Brian Edwards declined to comment as the matter was the subject of legal proceedings, but stressed that the company and its employees were not the subject of the enquiry. Payne was charged after he left the firm in April 2001, he added.
