Reckitt admits chief may have broken rules on shares

Rakesh Kapoor, the chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser, may have broken stock market rules, it was revealed yesterday.

The company admitted he pledged the bulk of his shareholding in the consumer giant – worth more than £8m – against a personal loan more than two years ago without it being revealed to the Stock Exchange.

This breaches the Model Code, part of the Listing Rules that govern what companies on the London Stock Exchange have to reveal about their directors' share dealings.

The Financial Services Authority is understood to be looking into Reckitt's surprise announcement to the markets but would not confirm it will take action against Mr Kapoor or the company. "It is unclear whether this is an error by the individual or by the company," a source said.

Reckitt said Mr Kapoor "granted a charge over 203,433 shares … as security against a loan made by Bank of America Merrill Lynch" in June 2010. At the time he was head of category development.