One of the creators of the popular video game hedgehog character has been arrested in Japan for insider trading, accused of using not-yet-public information to manipulate the stock market.
Prosecutors’ charges against 57-year-old Yuji Naka date back to 2020, when he was employed by Square Enix, the Japanese game publisher behind the world-famous video game series. Final Fantasy: and: DragonQuest:.
Yuji Naka is accused by prosecutors of buying shares in another developer, Aiming, knowing it was working on a new game with Square Enix. DragonQuest: for smartphones, information that was not yet public at the time.
A stock that had tripled in value
According to a document seen by AFP, Yuji Naka, who is best known for originating the iconic blue hedgehog Sonic in the early 1990s for Sega giants, bought 10,000 shares of Aiming in January 2020 for 2.8 million yen. , or 19,400 euros.
Aiming’s shares, which were worth less than 300 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in January 2020, jumped to more than 1,000 yen in July of the same year after the release of Dragon Quest Tact, a game developed with Square Enix.
Mr. Naka was arrested last Friday. Yesterday, two other former Square Enix employees were arrested on similar charges, suspected of buying Aiming shares for a total of 47.2 million yen (327,000 euros), according to documents seen by AFP.
Source: Le Figaro
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