A financial analyst and his sister have been convicted of insider dealing and money laundering after using working from home as a cover.
Redinel Korfuzi worked as a research analyst at asset management firm Janus Henderson.
Alongside his sister Oerta Korfuzi and two other accomplices, he made almost £1 million through confidential, price-sensitive information for publicly traded companies that Redinel acquired as part of his job.
According to the Financial Conduct Authority, Redinel conspired with his sister to use this information to deal in shares of at least 13 companies in advance of public market announcements.
Confidentiality
The trades would go through his sister’s account and those of the two accomplices – a personal trainer and his partner.
They took place between December 2019 and March 2021 – a period during which there were long periods of pandemic-related lockdowns and many employees were working from home.
When the case was heard in February, prosecutor Tom Forster said that the defendants had “taken advantage of the cloak of national lockdown restrictions… to take the opportunity to execute, while some of them worked from home, their secret plan to conduct criminal trading”.
The money laundering conviction noted that between 1 January 2019 and 25 March 2021, the Korfuzis received cash derived from the proceeds of crime, making over 176 cash deposits totalling £198,210.
The co-defendants were acquitted of charges, but Redinel and Oerta will be sentenced in early July. The FCA said it will also apply for confiscation orders to recover the proceeds of their crimes.
Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “We are committed to fighting financial crime and protecting the integrity of our markets. Those who use inside information to unlawfully make profits should be aware that we will identify them and bring them to justice.”
A spokesperson for Janus Henderson told the Financial Times: “We are pleased that the proceedings related to this legacy matter have now concluded.
“Neither Janus Henderson nor any other past or current employee of the firm was the subject of the proceedings or accused of any wrongdoing.
“We have fully co-operated with the FCA throughout its investigation. The protection of confidential information is extremely important to Janus Henderson, and the firm treats any actual or suspected misuse of confidential information with the utmost seriousness.”
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