Man sentenced over £154m fake takeover bid targeting UK-listed company

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and to pay costs of £4,627.73.

Mr Woolcott built a sizeable stake in Touchstone, an oil and gas listed company. He then launched a bogus bid to drive up its share price. To give the bid credibility, Mr Woolcott invented several identities, forged takeover documents using Chat GPT and met Touchstone’s chief executive at a central London hotel under a false name. Touchstone ultimately determined that the bid was not legitimate.

Had his plan succeeded, he stood to gain as much as £70,000 through the sale of his shares.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) used a combination of its transaction reporting data, phone records, receipts, CCTV footage and evidence seized to identify Mr Woolcott as the person behind the fraud.

Investigators traced three phone numbers used by different supposed individuals to contact Touchstone, to the same handset, and combined voter-register, open source research and FCA trading data to narrow down potential suspects. A parking payment also placed Mr Woolcott’s car near a Ryman store where the forged documents were sent from.

Searches of Mr Woolcott's home and workplace later recovered the mobile phone linked to the fabricated identities, including a purported private equity partner, his supposed colleague and a fictitious solicitor.

Therese Chambers, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said:

'Mr Woolcott's fake takeover bid was a calculated attempt to profit by manipulating the market.

'Our investigators followed an extensive evidence trail, exposed the fraud and identified the person behind the ruse.

‘Anyone tempted to manipulate our markets should know that we are fully committed to identifying, investigating and taking action against those who seek to break the law.'

In sentencing, Judge Karu said Mr Woolcott’s operation was deliberate, sophisticated, and planned in which four false identities and forged documents were used to hoodwink Touchstone Exploration Inc with a false takeover bid.

Mr Woolcott pleaded guilty on 10 September 2026 to 1 count of fraud by false representation and 3 counts of making a false instrument.

The investigation demonstrates how the FCA uses its full range of enforcement powers to disrupt financial crime and protect market integrity.

The FCA opened its criminal investigation in March 2025, formally charged Mr Woolcott 16 months later and secured guilty pleas within 18 months of launching the case.

Notes to editors

1. Christopher Woolcott, of Greenwich, London, was born on 23 April 1982.
2. On 10 September 2026, Woolcott pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to:
   • 1 count of fraud by false representation, contrary to sections 1 and 2 of the Fraud Act 2006; and
   • 3 counts of making a false instrument, contrary to sections 1 and 6 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981.  
3. Fraud by false representation is punishable by a fine and/or up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
4. Making a false instrument is punishable on indictment by a fine and/or up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
5. On 10 November 2026 at Southwark Crown Court, Mr Woolcott was sentenced to:
   • a 2 year sentence, suspended for 2 years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £4627.73; and 
   • a 14 months custodial sentence for each of the three forgery offences, to run concurrently with the two year suspended sentence. 
6. The FCA opened its criminal investigation in March 2025.
7. Touchstone Exploration Inc is listed on AIM and the Toronto Stock Exchange. It was not under investigation by the FCA in connection with this case.
8. Read the previous FCA press release: Man pleads guilty to fraud and forgery offences relating to fake takeover approach[2].
9. Tackling market abuse and financial crime is a priority under the FCA’s 5-year strategy.