The High Court has sentenced a dismissed employee to three months in prison for contempt of court after he admitted breaking Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules by personal account trading; forging a letter ostensibly from his brokers; destroying evidence on his computer; and not complying with a search and seizure order. The sentence will be suspended for 18 months.

In the case of Aspect Capital Ltd v Christensen, Mr Christensen was dismissed by his employer after it became clear that he had been carrying out personal account trading. His defence centred on a broker’s letter, which he later admitted he had forged himself.

When his computer was examined by a forensic computer expert, it was revealed that he had uploaded substantial quantities of confidential data to a number of personal internet accounts that he controlled.

In the light of this discovery, Aspect Capital then applied to the courts for a search and seizure order.

As he later admitted in court, Mr Christensen lied to the search party when asked if he had any confidential information belonging to his employer; lied about the content of the uploads; did not reveal that he had at least one computer which held back-up material; and swore untruthfully on an affidavit in compliance with the search and seizure order.

The High Court, describing Mr Christensen as a “self-confessed liar, forger and perjurer”, determined that his contempt of court was serious enough to warrant a three-month prison sentence.

However, the sentence was suspended for eighteen months due to Mr Christensen’s previous good character, the effect his imprisonment would have on the ongoing litigation and the effect of proceedings on his health.