Women Who Insider Traded On Shared Boyfriend's Behalf Somehow Found Not Guilty

Jessica Mang, who traded material non-public information based on tips obtained by her Mizuho investment banker boyfriend, Thomas Ammann, because he promised to take her on vacation afterward and also because she thought his entrusting her with such a high level task was a sign he wanted to get serious, was cleared by a jury today, as was Christina Weckwerth, Thomas Ammann's other girlfriend/execution trader.
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Jessica Mang, who traded material non-public information based on tips obtained by her Mizuho investment banker boyfriend, Thomas Ammann, because he promised to take her on vacation afterward and also because she thought his entrusting her with such a high level task was a sign he wanted to get serious, was cleared by a jury today, as was Christina Weckwerth, Thomas Ammann's other girlfriend/execution trader.

The women nearly doubled the amount they invested and then paid half of their profits to Ammann, the U.K. Financial Services Authority, which prosecuted the case, had said during the trial in London. Neither woman knew Ammann was dating the other simultaneously. Ammann, a German national who worked on the Mizuho mergers and acquisitions team that advised Canon on the OCE deal, pleaded guilty earlier this year to insider trading and encouraging Mang and Weckwerth to commit insider trading. Canon, the Tokyo-based maker of cameras and photocopiers, agreed to buy OCE in a 730 million-euro ($931.8 million) deal in November 2009. The FSA said that Ammann tried to avoid being caught by having his girlfriends make the trades. “The charges against Weckwerth and Mang were serious and we considered that the evidence provided a proper basis to put the case before a jury,” Tracey McDermott, the regulator’s director of enforcement and financial crime, said in a statement.

Weckwerth, who has British and Cypriot citizenship, took in nearly 2 million pounds ($3.2 million) after investing 1 million euros before the deal in 2009, the FSA said at trial. She argued that she bought shares of OCE only after she researched Ammann’s recommendation. Mang, who got back 65,000 pounds on a 39,000-pound stake, said she bought the shares at Ammann’s request because she wanted to show him that she trusted him and was trying to build their relationship.

Follow-up questions that need answering:

* Did the ladies, who hadn't known about the other's existence until they were tried alongside one another over a four week period, become friends?

* Will they buy something nice for themselves with the profits they were allowed to keep?

* What are the odds Jessica "ma petite due diligénce" Mang will go out with Ammann again if he calls? High to pretty high?

Ex-Mizuho Banker’s Girlfriends Not Guilty of Inside Trade [Bloomberg]
Earlier: Woman Who Insider Traded On (Two-Timing) Boyfriend’s Behalf Did So In The Hopes Of Taking Relationship To The Next Level

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Woman Who Insider Traded On (Two-Timing) Boyfriend's Behalf Did So In The Hopes Of Taking Relationship To The Next Level

In the summer of 2009, Jessica Mang, far left, met an investment banker named Thomas Ammann at a nightclub in London. Both liked what they saw and started seeing each other "at least once a week," on days he wasn't with his other girlfriend, Christina Weckwerth. Things were going well, but by November, Mang wanted more. So when Ammann said he was going to take her on a romantic getaway to Seychelles, and all she had to do first was use her own money to trade on material non-public information he'd obtained from his job at Mizuho International about Canon’s purchase of OCE NV, she jumped at the chance. Not only did he want to go away with her (huge!) but he was entrusting her with such an important project (huger!); Mang had read all the dating books and knew that when a guy asks you to violate securities laws, it meant things were getting serious. “He basically said that I show him that I trust him -- I invest the money, he still hadn’t specified how -- once that’s done, we’ll go on holiday in the Seychelles,” Mang said today at a London criminal court. “I thought that was a massive leap in commitment.” She said Ammann told her if she didn’t do it, “he didn’t want to be with me anymore.” “I thought, you know, this is a relationship that’s going to go somewhere, I definitely thought we were exclusive as well,” Mang said. “It wasn’t just sleeping together, in my mind we were definitely boyfriend-girlfriend from the start.” Ammann suggested that she should invest so they could build a future together, which she said she thought was a “very sweet and considerate thing he was doing.” Things that are unanswered at time but presumably be cleared up by the time the trial concludes: 1) When Ammann asked Weckworth to insider trade on his behalf (in April 2009), did he dangle a vacation in her face, too? Did she agree to the deal because she also thought it was indication wedding bells weren't far off, or was she just in it for the financial gain? 2) UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES* COULD THIS MISUNDERSTANDING POSSIBLY OCCUR: Mang said she didn’t know what due diligence was and “thought it was just a cute nickname he had for me.” If you have any ideas, we're all ears. Ex-Banker’s Girlfriend Says Trades on Tips Showed Trust [Bloomberg] Earlier: Girlfriend Insider Trading On Two-Timing Boyfriend’s Behalf Found Roommate’s Judgment A Little Uncalled For Related (re: breaking the law for your boyfriend because he promises to take you on vacation): What To Do (Or Not Do) Upon Waking Up In A Car “Driving Through A House,” Part II *Did overhear a phone conversation in which he told someone "I'm spending 80 hours a week doing due diligence," and she assumed he meant her? Because otherwise we've got nothing.