A former Wizz Air executive has been fined £123,500 for trading company shares when he was not permitted to and failing to disclose his trades.
The Financial Conduct Authority imposed the sanction on former chief supply chain officer Andras Sebok for secretly trading more than £4 million worth of shares in the budget airline ahead of its financial results.
He carried out the trades in his capacity as a person discharging managerial responsibility (PDMR) at Wizz Air, the regulator found.
Sebok made 115 trades in Wizz Air shares between April 2019 and November 2020 in contravention of City rules.
It is the first time the FCA has fined a PDMR for trading company shares during closed periods under Market Abuse Regulations (MAR), and the second time is has fined a PDMR for failing to disclose personal trades.
The FCA found that Sebok traded Wizz Air shares in the restricted 30-day period leading up to the firm’s financial results announcements.
He also failed to notify the FCA and Wizz Air of his personal trades in the company’s shares within the required three business days.
“The restrictions on PDMRs trading during their company’s closed periods, and transparency on their trades, are key safeguards against market abuse,” the FCA said.
“PDMRs are senior executives in a position of trust with decision-making powers over their employer’s business, they risk undermining that position if they trade in the company’s shares during closed periods or fail to appropriately disclose their trading in the company’s shares.”
As a member of the senior leadership team at the airline, Sebok had access to draft financial results announcements before they were made public.
Wizz Air was informed of Sebok’s trading by the FCA in September 2021 and investigated the matter.
The carrier terminated his employment with immediate effect after he failed to provide an explanation for his conduct. Wizz Air then announced Sebok’s trades to the market on October 28, 2021, the FCA ruling said.
Steve Smart, the regulator’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: ‘Trust and transparency are vital to keeping our markets clean.
“Senior executives, like Mr Sebok, must report their trading and comply with the restrictions on trading during closed periods or they risk undermining the integrity of the market.”
Sebok qualified for a 30% discount on his penalty, resulting in a £123,500 fine, on account of his agreement to settle the matter, according to the FCA.
A spokesperson for Wizz Air told The Times it “maintains robust systems and controls in relation to employee share dealings, including a clear PDMR share-dealing policy, which was breached in this case. We have co-operated fully with the FCA”.