THE TIMES: Cracking down on the law breakers: “Shell was fined a record £17 million last August for repeatedly misleading investors over the level of its oil and gas reserves. The failing was seen as particularly serious because of warnings and indications going back to 2000 that Shell had got its estimates wrong.”: Posted Saturday 16 July 2005

By Patrick Hosking  

MYTRAVEL is the seventh quoted company to be disciplined by the Financial Services Authority for failing to keep its shareholders properly informed.

Shell was fined a record £17 million last August for repeatedly misleading investors over the level of its oil and gas reserves. The failing was seen as particularly serious because of warnings and indications going back to 2000 that Shell had got its estimates wrong.

Marconi was also found guilty of listing rule breaches. It was publicly reprimanded for delaying issuing its profits warning by 48 hours — a warning that eventually led to the collapse of the telecoms equipment giant. SFI, the Slug and Lettuce pubs group, was censured by the FSA in December 2003 for issuing “false and misleading results”.

Sportsworld Media Group was reprimanded in March 2004 for delaying a profits warning by more than a month. Its chief executive, Geoffrey Brown, was fined £45,000 for his shortcomings.

Pace Micro Technology, the set-top box maker, was fined £450,000 in January for concealing from investors that trade credit insurance had been withdrawn in respect of one of its biggest customers.

Universal Salvage was fined £90,000 and its former chief executive, Martin Christopher Hynes, £10,000 for failing to notify the market immediately of the loss of a contract.

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