The FCA has fined hedge fund executive Corrado Abbattista £100,000 for market abuse and banned him from any regulatory activity.

Mr Abbattista, who has appealed against the notice, was an experienced trader and a portfolio manager, partner and chief investment officer at Mayfair-based Fenician Capital Management LLP.

Mr Abbattista has referred the FCA’s Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal where his case and the FCA case will be heard at a later date.

The fine and ban will be on hold until the Tribunal determines the case.  

The FCA said that it believes that between 20 January and 15 May 2017, Mr Abbattista repeatedly placed in the market “large misleading orders” for Contract for Differences (CFDs), referenced to equities, which he did not intend to execute.

At the same time, he placed smaller orders that he did intend to execute on the opposite side of the order book to the misleading orders, the regulator said.

The watchdog added that through his large and misleading orders, he falsely represented to the market an intention to buy/sell when his true intention was the opposite.

The FCA alleges that Mr Abbattista was aware of the risk that his actions might constitute market manipulation but “recklessly” went ahead with those actions anyway. 

The trading undertaken by Mr Abbattista was initially identified by the FCA’s internal surveillance systems which review order books.

Fenician ceased to be authorised by the FCA in 2018.