US regulators say Tyler Loudon made illegal profits of $1.76 million after listening-in to calls made by his wife, an M&A manager with BP, concerning a planned acquisition.

He bought 46,450 shares in TravelCenters shortly before a planned acquisition by BP was announced,and then sold them after the price rose by nearly 71 per cent.

After he told his wife about the scheme, she reported him to her bosses – but still lost her job. She is now also pursuing a divorce.

Mr Loudon has already agreed to give up the $1.76m and pay a civil penalty, and is now also being criminally prosecuted.

Eric Werner, regional director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Fort Worth, said: “We allege that Mr Loudon took advantage of his remote working conditions and his wife’s trust to profit from information he knew was confidential. The SEC remains committed to prosecuting such malfeasance.”