Ex-Cantor Fitzgerald traders helped French fund manager...

Ex-Cantor Fitzgerald traders helped French fund manager manipulate the market, tribunal hears


Apr 26 2012 Martin Coyle at the Upper Tribunal A wealthy French fund manager used two former Cantor Fitzgerald Europe traders to engage in "very serious market manipulation" designed to advantage his fund's performance, a tribunal heard yesterday. The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery) Financial Services was told about manipulative transactions executed from Geneva by Stefan Chaligne that made him more than £266,000 on December 31, 2007 and January 31, 2008. The tribunal heard that the "dishonest" fund manager instructed two former Cantor Fitzgerald traders, Cheickh Tidiane Diallo and Patrick Sejean, who were based in London, to "blow up" the prices of stocks held by his fund on year-end and month-end dates four years ago to boost the fund's performance value and increase performance fees. Chaligne has now accepted that he committed market abuse. But he has referred a Financial Services Authority (FSA) fine of £1.16 million, which includes a penalty of £900,000 and profits disgorgement plus an industry ban, to the tribunal. His