Ex-Square Enix Employees Nabbed By Japan Cops For Insider Trading

A former employee of Japanese gaming software giant Square Enix Co. was arrested on Nov. 18 on suspicion of engaging in insider trading using unreleased information on the development of a smartphone game, a day after the arrest of another former employee and acquaintance over similar allegations.

Photo Insert: Square Enix commented that it was "fully cooperating with the investigation."

Yuji Naka, 57, a game creator from Tokyo's Minato Ward known for developing the popular "Sonic" action game series, is accused of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, Shintaro Iguchi and Yujiro Futamura reported for Mainichi Japan.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's special investigation unit specifically accuses Naka of purchasing 10,000 shares of Tokyo-based game creator Aiming Inc. for a total of some 2.8 million yen (approx. $20,000) in late January 2020, after learning that a new gaming title, "Dragon Quest Tact," then being jointly developed by Square Enix and Aiming, was expected to be released soon before the information was made public.

Aiming is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Growth Market. Naka had been sacked by Square Enix in April 2021 over an issue unrelated to the latest allegations. The Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo-based company is the distributor of the globally popular "Dragon Quest" and "Final Fantasy" game series.

On Nov. 17, the Tokyo prosecutors' special investigation team arrested former Square Enix worker Taisuke Sazaki, 38, and his acquaintance and company employee Fumiaki Suzuki, 40, both residents of Tokyo, on suspicion of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.

Prosecutors have not revealed whether the duo have admitted to the allegations.

Sazaki is specifically accused of purchasing some 72,000 shares of Aiming for a total of roughly 20.8 million yen (approx. $149,000) between early December 2019 and early February 2020, after learning in late November 2019 that Dragon Quest Tact was expected to be distributed, soon before that information was publicly released.

Suzuki is suspected to have acquired some 90,000 shares of Aiming for a total of around 26.4 million yen (approx. $189,000) by early February 2020 after hearing about the new gaming title from Sazaki in late December 2019. Square Enix commented that it was "fully cooperating with the investigation."

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