An ex-analyst at asset manager Janus Henderson Group Plc and four other individuals were charged with a £1.5 million ($1.8 million) conspiracy to commit insider dealing and money laundering by UK financial prosecutors.
(Bloomberg) — An ex-analyst at asset manager Janus Henderson Group Plc and four other individuals were charged with a £1.5 million ($1.8 million) conspiracy to commit insider dealing and money laundering by UK financial prosecutors.
The Financial Conduct Authority said Redinel Korfuzi, 35, accessed confidential inside information in his while working at Janus Henderson to enable “timely and profitable” trading in 49 companies. Korfuzi and the other individuals all indicated that they plan to plead not guilty, the FCA said Wednesday.
The five defendants saw profits of around £1.5 million by betting the value of shares in the companies involved would decline, the FCA said. The trading took place over a period between December 2019 and March 2021.
A lawyer for Korfuzi declined to comment.
The FCA has criminal powers to pursue insider dealing and is gearing up for a major trial later this year involving an ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst and his brother, a lawyer at a top London law firm.
The FCA conducted a multi site search and arrest operation in March 2021 with the assistance of London’s police. Korfuzi worked at Janus Henderson from 2019 until that time.
“The protection of confidential information is extremely important to Janus Henderson,” a spokesperson for the firm said in an email. “The firm treats any actual or suspected misuse of confidential information with the greatest seriousness. Neither the firm, nor any employee of the firm, is the subject of these proceedings.”
In addition to insider dealing, Korfuzi, as well as Oerta Korfuzi, Iva Spahiu, Rogerio de Aquino and Dema Almeziad were also charged with money laundering offenses relating to over 170 cash deposits totaling around £200,000.
Lawyers for the defendants didn’t immediately return calls and emails seeking comment.
(Updates with detail throughout)
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