Financial Services Authority (FSA) of UK has charged five individuals, including two former directors and one former senior trader of Blue Index, a specialist Contract for Difference (CFD) brokerage, with 17 counts of insider dealing.

James Paul Sanders, co-owner and a director of Blue Index, and his wife Miranda Sanders have been jointly charged with seven offenses of insider dealing relating to trading ahead of seven separate takeover announcements.

Sanders has been separately charged with three offenses of disclosing inside information contrary to section 52 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993.

In addition, Sanders together with Christopher Hossain, a senior trader of Blue Index, has been charged with offenses of encouraging clients of the firm to trade CFDs in relation to two of the stocks.

Hossain has also been charged with a further offense of insider dealing ahead of a takeover announcement.

James Swallow, co-owner and a director of Blue Index has been charged with three offenses of insider dealing relating to his trading ahead of three separate takeover announcements.

Adam Buck, a former employee of Blue Index and close associate of Sanders, has been charged with one offense of insider dealing relating to his trading ahead of a takeover announcement.

The offenses are all alleged to have taken place between October 2006 – February 2008 and all five individuals have been bailed by City of London Police to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates Court on 20 December 2010.

The suspects were arrested on 27 May 2009. At the same time the FSA took action to prevent Blue Index from continuing to trade.