Regal Petroleum hit with £600,000 fine for past rule breaches
17 November 2009
AIM listed oil and gas group Regal Petroleum was handed a stock exchange censure and a £600,000 fine today over one of the most serious breaches of market rules in AIM’s history.
The punishment follows a protracted investigation by the exchange and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) into how Regal was reporting progress on its oil exploration wells in the Kallirachi Prospect in the North Aegean Sea during the period June 27, 2003 and May 19, 2005. The lengthy disciplinary proceedings were exacerbated because Regal contested the exchange’s action.
Regal responded to today’s conclusion by saying that while disappointed at the outcome, it was is nonetheless pleased to “finally divorce the company from this historic episode”.
Regal has undergone a wholesale management change since the period in question and insisted that it is now at an exciting stage in the development of its assets.
According to the exchange, on 11 separate occasions Regal failed to take reasonable care to ensure that its announcements were not misleading, false or deceptive, and did not omit material information. On two occasions, Regal also failed to release price sensitive information without delay.
The exchange’s grip focused on Regal’s use of language in its announcements that created a misleading impression of the potential commercial viability of the Kallirachi Prospect. It said it has been over-optimistic in the information, without adequately describing the risks and had not accurately reflected the conclusions of independent experts on which the announcements were based.
Nick Bayley, the head of UK regulation at London Stock Exchange Group, said: “Today's public censure and fine closes an exceptional case in AIM's history. It is unprecedented in terms of the seriousness of the rule breaches involved and the resultant market impact. These factors contributed to the AIM Disciplinary Committee's decision to impose the highest fine in AIM's history.”
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