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The Financial Conduct Authority slapped Dipesh Kerai and Bhavesh Hirani with penalties totaling £108,731 for insider trading in Bidstack Group shares. Hirani worked as interim CFO at Bidstack back in December 2021 when he got his hands on confidential info about a big deal with a major video game publisher. He didn’t keep it to himself.
Instead, Hirani shared the sensitive details with Kerai before anyone else knew about it. The two men then bought 1.3 million Bidstack shares, pretty much betting the farm on information that wasn’t public yet. When the deal finally got announced, Bidstack’s stock price shot up more than 125%. Kerai walked away with over £9,000 in profits, though the FCA now wants that money back as part of his punishment. The whole scheme came to light through Suspicious Transaction and Order Reports that a firm submitted to regulators. Steve Smart, who runs enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said the case shows how the industry can help catch bad actors when they step out of line.
Not a small-time operation either.
Kerai’s total penalty hit £52,731, which breaks down to £9,260.74 in disgorgement plus interest, and a £42,000 fine that got cut by 30% because he settled. Hirani faces a £56,000 penalty, also getting that same 30% discount on what started as an £80,000 fine. Both men broke Article 14 of the UK Market Abuse Regulation, which covers insider dealing and illegal information sharing. Bidstack, an advertising tech company, traded on AIM until April 2024 when it got delisted.
The FCA isn’t done with enforcement actions like these. Smart made it clear the regulator won’t tolerate this kind of misconduct, and there’s probably more cases coming down the pipeline.
Bidstack specialized in in-game advertising before it disappeared from public markets earlier this year. The company had partnerships with major gaming publishers, which made it an interesting player in the ad tech space. But those same partnerships also created opportunities for people like Hirani to exploit confidential information. The 125% stock surge after the publisher deal got announced shows just how much money was at stake.
Hirani’s position as interim CFO gave him access to sensitive company data that regular investors couldn’t see. He violated that trust by opening a trading account in Kerai’s name and executing trades based on non-public information. That’s a serious breach of fiduciary duty, and it highlights why senior financial executives can’t mess around with insider information.
The settlement discounts both men received show the FCA’s strategy of encouraging early admissions. It’s faster for everyone involved, and it sends a message to other potential wrongdoers that cooperation pays off. But the financial penalties still pack a punch. For more details, see FCA Takes Huobi Global to Court.
Bidstack hasn’t said anything publicly about the case involving their former interim CFO. The company’s silence might mean they’re doing internal reviews or dealing with legal considerations. Or maybe they just don’t want to draw more attention to the whole mess.
The FCA caught this case through industry reporting, which Smart praised as crucial for maintaining market integrity. Firms have to submit Suspicious Transaction and Order Reports when they spot unusual activity, and that system worked exactly as intended here. Without those reports, Hirani and Kerai might have gotten away with their scheme.
Market participants better take notice. The FCA has been cracking down on insider trading cases in recent months, and this won’t be the last one. The regulator wants to send a clear message that leveraging non-public information for personal gain comes with serious consequences.
The penalties reflect the FCA’s commitment to deterring similar misconduct. Hirani had a position of trust as interim CFO, and he abused it by sharing sensitive information with Kerai. The fines, even with the settlement discounts, demonstrate that the FCA will pursue justice while remaining open to negotiation.
Bidstack’s shares were particularly sensitive to market movements because of the company’s pioneering work in in-game advertising solutions. The stock surge following the publisher deal announcement shows exactly why insider trading rules exist – to prevent unfair advantages that distort market prices. More on this topic: Gold Traders Double Down on ,000.
The FCA hasn’t said whether they’re investigating other potential insider trading activities at Bidstack or related companies. But their ongoing vigilance makes it clear they’re committed to maintaining transparent and fair markets where all participants operate on level ground.
Smart emphasized how important collaboration between regulators and market actors is for identifying suspicious activities. That partnership enhances the integrity of UK financial markets and helps catch misconduct before it spreads.
The case marks another enforcement action in the FCA’s broader initiative to strengthen market oversight. With Kerai and Hirani now facing significant financial penalties, other market participants should think twice before trying similar schemes.
The case highlights broader vulnerabilities in the gaming and ad-tech sectors, where partnerships with major publishers create multiple access points for confidential information. Gaming industry deals often involve significant revenue projections and exclusive content arrangements that can dramatically impact stock valuations. Companies like Bidstack, which bridge traditional advertising with emerging gaming platforms, frequently handle sensitive partnership data that extends beyond typical financial metrics.
Suspicious Transaction and Order Reports have become increasingly effective at flagging unusual trading patterns, particularly in smaller AIM-listed companies where volume spikes stand out more clearly. The FCA processed over 1.2 million such reports in 2023, with technology helping identify correlations between trading activity and corporate announcements. Market surveillance systems now track not just individual trades but networks of connected accounts, making it harder for schemes involving multiple parties to escape detection.
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