The FSA has handed out its largest ever fine on an individual for market abuse.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK has taken a hardline approach in its latest battle to crack down on companies and individuals looking to defraud others, as it dishes out its largest fine for “market abuse”.

Mehmet Sepil, the Chief Executive Officer of Turkish oil company, Genel Enerji, has been fined a record £967,005 for insider dealing. The FSA has handed its largest ever fine against an individual for market abuse after finding Sepil guilty of dealing in the shares of UK listed Heritage Oils Plc on the basis of insider information.

Genel Enerji’s Chief Operating Officer, Murat Ozgul, and Exploration Manager, Levent Akca, were fined lesser sums - £105,240 and £94,062 - for the same crime.

The FSA said that over a period of several months in 2009, the three men colluded in making a personal profit from a joint venture between Genel Enerji and Canadian-based Heritage Oil.

After flying to the UK for a series of meetings, the three men found out highly sensitive information about Heritage’s drilling test in Miran, after which they bought shares in the company and subsequently made a massive profit after Heritage’s shares rose by 25% after publicly announcing a “major oil discovery”.

Margaret Cole, Director of Enforcement at the FSA, gave a stark warning to those who may be tempted to abuse the system: “The penalties the FSA has imposed as a result of this investigation send a clear message to companies and individuals wherever they are based that dealing with the benefit of inside information is not acceptable.

“The FSA expects those entrusted with inside information not to betray that trust. We will not tolerate the abuse of a privileged position to make a personal profit at the expense of other market participants and these penalties underline our commitment to combating this behaviour,” Cole added.

However, the FSA did add that despite the damning actions of the individuals concerned, it was not criticising the conduct of Heritage or Genel Enerji.

Sepil, Ozgul and Akca have since received a 30% reduction in their fines for agreeing to settle at an early stage – the total would have been £1.12million had this not been the case.