HERITAGE OIL PLC 
By 
Hannam's employer at the time JP Morgan Cazenove, a JP Morgan (>> JPMorgan Chase & Co.) joint-venture, imposed "very significant and extensive restrictions" on Hannam after a disciplinary inquiry in 2009, documents released by Britain's financial regulator showed.
The high-profile case, which began in a London court on Tuesday, tests the mettle of the three-month-old Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a revamped regulator determined to hold to account senior bankers and their employers for market abuse or sloppy controls. It will also fuel a debate about what constitutes inside, or market-moving, information.
The FCA documents said Hannam was banned from December 2009 from initiating or soliciting new business or attending meetings without an "approved person."
He was forced to resign from the JP Morgan Cazenove board and had emails and phone calls monitored, according to the documents. JP Morgan declined to comment.
Hannam, an ex-special forces soldier known for multi-billion-dollar deals that transformed Britain's blue-chip share index, and links to U.S. generals and Iraqi ministers, wants to restore his reputation and overturn the 450,000 pound ($685,100) fine.
The FCA documents said that 57-year-old Hannam had a "relaxed" attitude to disclosure.
Richard Boulton, the leading lawyer for the FCA, told the court that inside information should be easy to spot. "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it is a duck."
CHINESE WALLS
Hannam, in court for the opening of his case a day before he takes the stand, said he did not believe he broke any rules.
"The case raises questions about the definition, and treatment of, inside information on the corporate finance side of the "Chinese Wall" and clarification by the Upper Tribunal is important for London as a global financial center," he said in a statement.
The Upper Tribunal hears appeals on cases brought by the regulator.
Hannam resigned from JP Morgan Cazenove last year, leaving his position as global chairman of equity capital markets after two decades at the firm, to pursue his appeal.
The FCA's predecessor, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), alleged Hannam sent two emails on behalf of a client, Heritage Oil (>> Heritage Oil PLC), in September and October 2008, which included potential inside information.
Both emails were sent to Kurdish oil minister Ashti Hawrami. The first, which referred to a potential offer for Heritage and a price, did not name a buyer. The second mentioned an oil find.
The FCA documents alleged that Heritage was forced to issue an announcement about bid talks nine days after the September email because the UK Takeover Panel regulator noticed "untoward movement" in Heritage's share price.
It also noted that JP Morgan Cazenove told Hannam in 2009 that he had "conducted business communications with third parties in a manner falling below the standard expected of you."
Hannam has admitted that he made a mistake when he blind copied his October email, disclosing information about progress with Heritage's oil exploration program, to an advisor to companies with interests in Kurdistan.
But he has said his emails were too general to constitute inside information and that he was acting in his client's interests.
He also has said no one made any personal gain from the information in his emails and has noted that his honesty and integrity were not questioned by the regulator, who also did not remove his "fit and proper" status.
Rebuilding his reputation is critical for Hannam, who is building up a gold venture in Afghanistan and an advisory firm Strand Partners, which includes some of the JP Morgan team that were among the most influential in the sector.
($1 = 0.6568 British pounds)
(Writing by Kirstin Ridley. Editing by Jane Merriman)
By Clara Ferreira-Marques and Clare Hutchison
