The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has banned and fined self-employed trader Barnett Michael Alexander £700,000 and ordered him to pay a further £322,818 in restitution.

The regulator has banned Alexander from performing any function in relation to regulated activity for five years and secured a court order preventing him from committing market abuse.

Restitution will go to firms who experienced a loss as a result of the former stockbroker's actions.

Between January 2009 and May 2010 Alexander was alleged to have manipulated the prices of shares on the London Stock Exchange by entering multiple small orders to buy and sell.

By entering the small orders, Alexander hoped to manipulate the price of CFDs and spread bets tracking the price of shares.

He generated £629,130 by trading CFDs and spread bets at the prices created through share price manipulation and used accounts in the names of third parties to disguise his behaviour.

Tracey McDermott, acting director of enforcement and financial crime at the FSA, said, The FSA views market manipulation extremely seriously. Alexander’s behaviour was deliberate and repeated over a significant period of time.

'He sought to conceal his trading and made substantial profits at the expense of the firms which allowed him to trade with them.

The original fine was set at £1 million. However, Alexander qualified for a 30 per cent discount after agreeing to settle at an early stage.

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