Charismatic US hedge fund manager David Einhorn and his firm, Greenlight Capital, have been fined a total of £7.2 million by British regulators for market abuse for trading ahead of a 2009 equity fundraising by Punch Taverns.

Mr Einhorn, who will personally pay £3.6 million, is by far the most prominent figure to be ensnared by the UK Financial Services Authority. His fine is the second largest ever handed down by the FSA to an individual for market abuse.

According to the watchdog, Mr Einhorn participated in a June 9th, 2009, phone call in which Punch’s broker told him that Punch Taverns were in the advanced stages of issuing new equity. Over the next four days, Greenlight sold 11.65 million shares in the firm. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012)