One of the defendants is a 66-year-old Ica trader from south-eastern Sweden. He is suspected of serious insider trading and is the one of the defendants that the prosecutor demands must pay back the highest amount, over SEK 600,000.
In a conversation from September 15, 2021, which the prosecutor plays in court, the man tells his banker that he wants him to buy 5,000 Ica shares for two million kroner.
– Buy as much as you can. And then sell for 25 million, he says.
– I hear rumours. I don’t know if the rumors are credible, but I think so, adds the man in the conversation.
“Deletes SMS”
According to prosecutors, several of the parties must have bought shares in the middle of the night during an annual conference.
– They delete SMS conversations in which the share purchases have been discussed when they become aware that they are suspected of insider trading, says Chamber prosecutor Pontus Hamilton when the main hearing in the Stockholm District Court begins on Tuesday.
– In intercepted conversations, it appears that people find these conversations troublesome.
A total of 18 people are charged with various types of insider crimes in connection with Ica’s delisting from the stock exchange in the fall of 2021. Twelve of them are suspected of serious crimes, which can result in a maximum of six years in prison.
All the main suspects in the case are ICA traders in southern and central Sweden. Other suspects are friends or relatives of the traders.
During his presentation of the case, Hamilton emphasizes that it is a man who is the main suspect who is accused of having, with information from the ICA association’s board, leaked insider information to the other defendants in the case.
Stock purchase in the night
– The information comes from him. Then it goes down to other people who spread the information further. The connections are clear in our opinion, he says.
– NN (the main suspected Ica trader) receives insider information on September 6 about a planned bid for the Ica Group. Two days later he talks to his brother who buys shares the following day in Ica first of all, says Hamilton further.
The prosecutor demands that around SEK 20.5 million be paid back. That’s the amount the crimes are believed to have netted.
“Misunderstanding”
Lawyer Conny Cedermark represents the main suspect.
– It feels good that the negotiation is getting started so that this misunderstanding can be cleared up, he tells TT shortly before the trial begins.
– The prosecutor’s evidence is based on a misunderstanding, where different things have been put together that have no connection with each other, says Cedermark.
He adds that he is very optimistic about the possibilities of being able to disprove the prosecutor’s version of what happened.
The courtroom is full during the first day of hearings. Media are directed to a side room.
The trial is expected to last nine weeks.
– If everything goes smoothly, we will hopefully have a verdict before Christmas. That is the intention of the court, says the councilor and chairman of the court Carl Rosenmüller.