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Working from home during the Coronavirus Pandemie gave a former analyst with fund manager Janus Henderson to exploit an Insider trading scheme from a flat in Central London, a court heard.
Redinel Korfuzi, 37, went on Thursday together with his sister Oerta Korfuzi, 36, and two other alleged members of a ring that claimed that they yielded almost £ 1 million by illegal bets on stock prices in 2020 and 2021.
Jury members were told that the network used information that Korfuzi removed from his work at Janus Henderson about the coming fundraising by listed companies. They benefited from trading positions on personal accounts in companies such as JET2, Hargreaves Lansdown and THG.
The four defendants in the case, who also include personal trainer Rogerio de Aquino, 63, and DEMA ALMEZIAD, 40, are all accused of one count of insider trade and one count of money laundering.
The charges were also lodged against Korfuzi’s partner IVA Spahiu, 37, but jury members were told that she would not be tried after she had been found unwell. All individuals deny the charges.
Tom Forster KC said the Public Prosecution Service’s case at Southwark Crown Court in London and said that the defendants “benefited from the mantle offered by National Lockdown restrictions”.
Homeworking Korfuzi enabled to exploit the schedule “hidden from the supervisory eyes and ears of his colleagues” at Janus Henderson, he claimed.
A flat in Marylebone where Korfuzi lived with his sister and partner was the “heart of the company,” said Forster.
He said that Korfuzi, who worked as a research analyst in shares at Janus Henderson, “stood in the center” of the scheme.
Trade was not carried out in his own name, but that of other members of the syndicate to “cover up the link”, the lawyer claimed.
The Aquino, who lived in a nearby apartment, and his then partner Almeziad, acted as “secret proxies” for the syndicate, forer.
Jury members were told that Janus Henderson was often contacted in advance by investment banks about potential placements, a means with which companies tap investors for cash. The “market -oriented” process is determined by strict rules to prevent market abuse.
Prosecutors said that Korfuzi was placed ‘over the wall’ by his employer, giving him access to market -sensitive information about the upcoming placements.
A dip in the stock price was in fact the “Sweet Spot for an unscrupulous prior knowledge,” said Forster. He described the use of internal information to benefit as “cheating, clear and simple”.
Public Prosecutors claimed that the Ring obtained around £ 963,000 through prior knowledge trade. Packaging group Smurfit Kappa was the most lucrative position and generated a win of £ 146,000. Other positions were taken in shares, including Daimler and Vonovia, they claimed.
The case continues.