2023-07-07 02:31:26
On July 7, the Tokyo District Court found Yuji Naka guilty of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act in relation to insider trading involving Square Enix game development. The Tokyo District Court sentenced the defendant to two years and six months in prison, four years of probation, a fine of ¥2 million, and a fine of ¥170 million.TBS TVorcurrent affairs dot cometc. have been reported.
Defendant Yuji Naka joined Sega in 1984 and is a game creator who has worked on many works such as “Phantasy Star” and “Space Harrier”. His representative works include the “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. The defendant then left Sega to start his own company, Prope. After joining Square Enix in January 2018 and working on “Balan Wonder World”, he left the company in July 2021.
On November 18, 2022, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s Special Investigation Department arrested Naka Defendant on suspicion of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. The suspicion is that in late January 2020, when he was enrolled at Square Enix, he learned that Square Enix was developing “Dragon Quest Tact” with Aiming. It was said that about 10,000 shares of stock were purchased for about 2.8 million yen. Also, on December 7, 2021, the middle defendant learned of undisclosed information about Square Enix and Ateam’s development of a new mobile game (believed to be “Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier”), Around the end of the month, he was arrested again on suspicion of buying about 120,000 shares of Ateam for a total of about 144.7 million yen.
In the trial so far, the prosecution has said, “I was appointed as a senior manager because of my achievements in developing world-famous games as a game programmer at another major game maker. After accessing a website that posted materials and meeting minutes, he learned that they were working on joint development of new works in the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series. pointed out. On the other hand, the defendant Naka said, “There is no doubt,” and admitted the content of the indictment (related article).
In addition, the prosecutor’s office sentenced the defendant to a two-year prison sentence last month, arguing that he “gained illicit profits from a position that was much more advantageous than general investors and undermined the fairness of the market.” 6 months, a fine of 2.5 million yen, and a supplementary collection of more than 170 million yen. On the other hand, the defense side said, “I did not actively browse insider information,” and asked for a suspended sentence and a reduction in fines and additional charges.
And in today’s ruling, Judge Hiruta of the Tokyo District Court pointed out that “[Square Enix]was expected to play an important role and was given the authority to access information about ongoing game development.” “We are actively reviewing the materials, and we cannot take criminal responsibility lightly,” he said. On top of that, since he admitted the indictment and showed an attitude of remorse, it was judged that the suspension of execution was appropriate, and the defendant was sentenced to imprisonment for 2 years and 6 months, suspension of execution for 4 years, a fine of 2 million yen, and a fine of 170 million yen. He handed down a guilty verdict of more than one yen. It is not clear at this time how the defendants will react to the ruling or whether they will appeal.
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