Christopher Woolcott, 44, from Greenwich in London, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to four counts of fraud and forgery after inventing a fake takeover bid for Touchstone Exploration. The UK financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said he used multiple false identities and forged documents to manipulate the share price of the Calgary-based oil and gas company, which operates primarily in Trinidad and Tobago and is listed on London’s AIM market and the Toronto Stock Exchange. Woolcott admitted he stood to benefit financially from any upward move in Touchstone’s share price if the sham bid had been announced.

Isaac Mirza, his lawyer, did not respond to requests for comment. Touchstone confirmed it discovered the bid was fake and informed the FCA, which stated it was not investigating the company. The FCA emphasized that fake bids, forged documents, and false identities have no place in markets and warned of increasing manipulative schemes targeting small listed companies.

The case echoes past sham bids, including the $8.2bn fake offer for Avon by PT G Capital Partners, which led to charges against Nedko Nedev for market manipulation.