It concerns alleged insider trading in 154 cases: The Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Frankfurt has confirmed a court ruling against a former employee of Deutsche Börse. According to the court, the previously ordered confiscation of proceeds of the crime amounting to 1.3 million euros from the defendant’s assets was legal.
Wife’s portfolio used for stock deals
The defendant, against whom the public prosecutor’s office is investigating on suspicion of insider trading, is said to have been informed of 154 mandatory stock exchange announcements as a former employee of the DAX group. This requires listed companies to inform their shareholders about potentially price-relevant events. Even before the mandatory stock exchange announcements were published, the defendant is said to have bought shares and financial instruments via his wife’s portfolio and sold them after publication.
The court stated that there is a strong suspicion that the defendant engaged in insider trading in 154 cases. This follows from his confession, among other things, and was also confirmed by a quick check by the financial regulator Bafin. Insider trading occurs when someone has information in advance that affects stock prices and uses it to make money.
In order to secure the proceeds of the crime, the Frankfurt am Main Regional Court had provisionally secured the defendant’s assets amounting to almost 1.3 million euros. The defendant had lodged an appeal against this decision. The appeal was unsuccessful before the Higher Regional Court.
Financial supervision involved
The mandatory stock exchange notifications underlying the purchases only actually contained insider information in around a third of the cases, according to the Higher Regional Court. However: “Even if a perpetrator purchases securities in the actually erroneous belief that he has insider information and then resells them, the entire proceeds from the sale are subject to confiscation,” said the court. The decision is not contestable (case no. 7 Ws 253/23).
Deutsche Börse stated that it had fully cooperated with the relevant authorities. This was an isolated case.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240924-930-241862/1
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