Michael Koulouroudis, an accomplice of former UBS investment banker Nicos Stephanou, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, accepting that he earned nearly $200,000 by trading based on inside information stolen from UBS.

According to an FBI press release, Mr Koulouroudis knowingly executed a series of securities trades based on material, nonpublic information received from Mr Stephanou, a close friend who worked as an investment banker at UBS's New York City and London offices. From 2005-2006, Mr Stephanou repeatedly provided Mr Koulouroudis with nonpublic information regarding potential acquisitions of Albertson’s, a  grocery chain, and ElkCorp, a manufacturer of building materials. Mr Koulouroudis used this information to make $198,000 in profits, using multiple trading accounts, the statement continued.

US authorities have already carried out a number of investigations against alleged insider traders and alleged operators of Ponzi scheme frauds, which have come to light amid the recent financial turmoil.

The conspiracy charge leveled against Mr Koulouroudis carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offence. The securities fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5 million, or twice the gross gain or loss from the crime. Mr Koulouroudis will be sentenced on 11 February 2010.

Mr Koulouroudis’s plea comes one day after the conviction of Joseph Contorinis, another of Mr Stephanou’s accomplices. Mr Contorinis, a former hedge fund manager, was indicted for drawing upon nonpublic information provided by Mr Stephanou to make trades that earned $7 million in profits.

Mr Stephanou himself has pleaded guilty to six charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one of securities fraud. He currently awaits sentencing.