Security News > 2020 > October > Chap beats rap in WhatsApp zap flap: Russian banker walks from insider trading case after deleting software

Konstantin Vishnyak, 42, was cleared by Southwark Crown Court in London, England, of destroying documents relevant to a now-discontinued investigation into insider trading.

It was reported that Vishnyak, formerly of VTB Capital, deleted the app and messages from his iPhone - one of two handsets he gave to police - not out of fear of an investigation into insider trading, but rather in an effort to conceal his friendship with Andrei Lugovoi, the Russian politician wanted in connection with the polonium poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

Last year, when bringing the charge under Blighty's Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000, the FCA claimed Vishnyak knew the app would be of interest to investigators looking into possible insider trading.

"Mr Vishnyak was under investigation by the FCA for suspected insider dealing offences," the FCA said at the time.

"The FCA alleges Mr Vishnyak deleted the WhatsApp application on his mobile phone after he was required to provide it as part of the investigation."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2020/10/01/whatsapp_fca_evidence/