Two held over insider trading

Two people have been arrested in London on suspicion of insider trading after investigators raided two addresses in the UK and one in Germany.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said a 37-year-old man and a woman aged 28 were arrested after the joint operation involving police and prosecuting authorities in the German state of Hesse.

"No further details can be confirmed at this time," the City regulator said yesterday in a brief statement. "The arrests are not linked to any other ongoing insider dealing investigation."

The man, who was authorised by the FSA, is likely to have been working in the financial services sector and to have been aware of the relevant laws and regulations governing insider dealing, one source familiar with the arrests said.

The raids, in the early hours of Tuesday, were carried out in London and in Königstein, near the German city of Frankfurt.