A Tokyo court on Friday sentenced a former employee of major gaming firm Square Enix Co. to a suspended prison term for insider trading using information not yet made public about new mobile games jointly developed with two other game firms.
Yuji Naka, one of the creators of video game series Sonic the Hedgehog, was given a prison term of two years and six months, suspended for four years, and ordered to pay a 2 million yen ($14,000) fine and 171 million yen in additional penalties.
According to the ruling, Naka, 57, knowing that the development of new mobile games related to the popular Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series was underway, bought shares worth around 148 million yen in 2020 and 2021 in the two firms which jointly developed the games with Square Enix before the information was made public.
"Known as a world famous game developer, (Naka) had access to information on the joint development," Judge Madoka Hiruta said at the Tokyo District Court.
The defendant "undermined the fairness and soundness of the stock market and the trust of investors," the judge said, noting he earned a profit of 23 million yen.
A sentence for another former Square Enix employee, Taisuke Sazaki, who was also charged with insider trading, has been finalized after he received a prison term of three years, suspended for five years. Sazaki was also ordered to pay 4 million yen in fines with additional penalties of around 176 million yen.
