Tullett Prebon wins $33 mln in damages over BGC poaching

* Tullett says FINRA finds in favour of its U.S. units

* BGC to pay $33.3 mln in damages

* Tullett to pay $6.1 mln over 2007 acquisition

July 10 (Reuters) - British interdealer broker Tullett Prebon has won $33.3 million in damages from rival BGC Partners (Other OTC: PGPHF - news) over the alleged poaching of staff from its United States-based subsidiaries in 2009.

Arbitrators for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Wall Street's industry-funded regulator, found BGC liable for $13 million and a number of its brokers liable for a further $20 million, BGC said in a statement on Thursday.

BGC said it plans to cover the damages incurred by its staff and had already made provisions for the cost.

"The FINRA award will not have a material financial effect on BGC," the company said.

In its own statement, Tullett Prebon (LSE: TLPR.L - news) said FINRA had ordered it to pay $6.1 million in compensation to the former owners of Chapdelaine Corporate Securities & Co, which it acquired in 2007. The sum relates to outstanding payments associated with the transaction.

Interdealer brokers match buyers and sellers of currencies, bonds and swaps in a fiercely competitive market. Several long-running feuds have in the past erupted between the major players in the industry, over issues such as poaching and patent infringement.

Tullett and BGC are due to meet in a U.S. court in the autumn over a separate legal action in which Tullett Prebon Plc, rather than its U.S. subsidiaries, is seeking damages from BGC for erosion of shareholder value. Tullett has not given a figure for the amount of damages it is claiming.

The two have already clashed in a London court over poaching, with Tullett Prebon winning an undisclosed damages from New York-based BGC. Anthony Verrier, a money market broker who moved from Tullett to BGC, was banned by Britain's financial watchdog for his role in the raid. (Editing by David Holmes)