[ by Melanie Gretchen ] A former Merrill Lynch executive was fined for leaking confidential information about a British pub chain to the hedge fund Greenlight Capital.  Britain's top securities regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), said the one-time Merrill corporate broker, Andrew Osborne, will pay about $550 (£350,000) for what the agency called “a serious case of market abuse.” Greenlight's Sale of Shares in Punch Taverns. In 2009, the hedge fund sold shares in Punch Taverns, avoiding what FSA said what could have been $9 millions in losses.  In that case, CEO David Einhorn was fined about $11 million, although he continues to defende his actions - likening the regulator’s case as “something more akin to a traffic cop with a quota at the end of the month and a miscalibrated radar gun.” FSA Findings and Allegations. Osborne represented Punch in June 2009 when he approached Greenlight, a big investor in the pub operator.  During a conference call between Punch’s management and Mr. Einhorn that he arranged, Osborne disclosed that the company was planning a stock sale within a week, which would have driven down Punch’s stock price. Had Greenlight agreed to what is called a "wall crossing" in Britain - whereby an investor agrees to receive inside information but is prohibited from acting on the news until it is made public - this discussion would have acceptable.  However, this was not the case. In its case against Osborne, the regulator published for the first time a transcript of that conference call, a long conversation between Punch’s CEO, Giles Thorley, and Einhorn, who repeatedly expressed his displeasure over the proposed share sale.  Shortly thereafter, Greenlight began reducing its stake, though Mr. Osborne did not notify the company’s management.  Six days after the call, Punch announced its stock sale, effecting a slide of nearly 30% in its share price. The FSA said that, like others in the matter, Mr. Osborne did not appear to intentionally breach British securities regulations.  But in the agency’s words, his actions still “undermined the integrity of the market.” For more details, go to [Dealbook, 2/16/12].