The Central Bank has fined Dublin-based stockbrokers Cantor Fitzgerald €452,790 for failing to report suspicious transactions to regulators in breach of insider trading rules.
An investigation by the bank identified six occasions from September 2017 to May 2022 where the stockbrokers’ surveillance system spotted suspicious deals and did not report them.
The Central Bank found that the company failed to make the reports in compliance with market abuse regulations which cover “insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information and market manipulation”.
In a statement, the regulator said Cantor was “reckless” in failing to submit a report “as it knew or ought to have known of the risk” of a breach of regulations by not doing so.
It said it “failed to consistently escalate suspicious transactions internally – during a period of over six years between March 2017 and June 2023. Cantor has admitted to the breach”.
It said Cantor “failed to document its analysis as to whether it considered certain orders and transactions to be suspicious”.
It said the stockbrokers’ internal committee which managed suspicious transactions “impeded the consistent reporting of suspicious transactions”.
It added the stockbroking company’s breach of regulations was “varied and protracted” and was not remediated until the Central Bank intervened.
The Central Bank decided the appropriate fine was €646,840, which was reduced by 30% to €452,790 because Cantor reached a settlement.
It is also understood the issue is being examined by the gardaí.
The US-owned company has offices in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.
In a statement Cantor Fitzgerald said: “We are pleased to have resolved this matter with the Central Bank of Ireland related to issues which were fully remediated by June 2023.”
