Regulators raid offices of Swedish M&A lawyer Vinge

Reports suggest the associate had been investigated for some time, and that the search and seizure was conducted to establish the circumstances under which the alleged crimes were able to take place.

Vinge conducted a separate investigation of the associate, active in the firm's M&A department, and dismissed him the following day for "committing serious breaches of Vinge's internal rules governing trading in financial instruments."

The lawyer, who is believed to have advised on at least one private equity transaction, has been released awaiting trial. Local media reported that he is currently being investigated for five counts of insider dealing, at the highest severity, between 24 August 2010 and 20 June 2011.

According to a court document quoted by the secretary-general of the Swedish Bar Association, Anne Ramberg, the search and seizure was conducted on the presumption of insufficient information control at the firm. The Economic Crime Authority stated in the document that Vinge could not be expected to voluntarily disclose any deficiencies in terms of client confidentiality and explained its rationale for the raid:

"The working hypothesis is that there are no established routines, as the employer relies on employees following client confidentiality agreements, or that the employer does not consider insufficient routines problematic."

"We expect that the search and seizure will document extensive insufficiencies in the handling of client information."

Vinge stated to a local financial newspaper that it has internal controls in place, which require employees to seek approval from the firm prior to buying shares, and that the dismissed employee had failed to comply.

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