REGULATOR IMRO yesterday suspended four former employees of securities house Morgan Grenfell for their part in the August 1996 debacle which resulted in unit trust manager Peter Young being sacked for gross misconduct. It was regarded as the biggest scandal in the history of the unit trust industry.
Michael Wheatley, Glyn Owen, Paul Ebling and Graham Kane have been suspended for periods ranging from 16 months to three years and will also each pay a share of IMRO's investigation costs ranging from just under #70,000 to just over #90,000.
Wheatley, former compliance director at Morgan Grenfell Asset Management, has also been barred from ever holding another compliance position.
The punishments have been imposed over ''irregularities'' found in the management of Morgan Grenfell's investment funds in 1996.
However, IMRO said none of the four, who were dismissed by Morgan Grenfell in October 1996, was found to have acted dishonestly or with a lack of integrity. Young had breached City rules on investing in companies not quoted on stock markets. Under these no more than 10% of a fund must be invested in privately owned funds, but those controlled by Young had 33% of investments in companies not quoted on stock markets.
This brought about the temporary suspension of three funds - European Growth Trust, the Europa and European Capital Growth - while Morgan Grenfell's German parent, Deutsche Bank, intervened by buying #180m worth of securities to stabilise them.
It later agreed an investor compensation package of #200m and last year was fined #2m plus #1m costs by IMRO.
Wheatley is suspended from IMRO registration for three years and must pay costs of #90,850. Owen is also suspended for three years and will pay investigation costs of #88,770.
Ebling is suspended for two years and faces #69,450 costs while Kane is out for 16 months and faces #90,470 costs.
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