Gardaí are preparing a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) after releasing two men arrested on Friday as part of an investigation into suspected insider trading.
The Irish Times has established that the individual at the centre of the investigation is a veteran of the State’s international funds sector.
The individual, who cannot be named for legal reasons, declined to comment when contacted by this newspaper. The other man is said to be a broker who worked for the suspect.
The funds industry employs more than 19,500 people directly and supports a total of 37,500 jobs, according to Irish Funds Industry Association figures.
“The two men arrested as part of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau on Friday November 15th, 2024, into suspected insider trading have been released without charge,” a Garda spokeswoman said in response to questions on Monday.
“Both men were released without charge and a file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.”
The investigation is ongoing. The gardaí declined to comment on when the two individuals, who were questioned at a Garda station in Dublin, were released.
Insider trading is an illegal practice if an individual or firm buys or sells shares when they have access to non-public information that could affect the value of a company.
It was reported on Friday that suspect is alleged to have made about €900,000 overnight after buying shares in an unnamed company before a key announcement from the business was made in 2020.
Earlier this year, in an unrelated case, the first person to be convicted of insider trading in the State’s history was fined £60,000 (almost €70,000) at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Declan Service, of Sunnyvale Avenue, Portrush, Co Antrim, pleaded guilty to insider dealing between May 18th and 22nd, 2020, when he used sensitive market information to sell shares before that information was made public.
The court heard that Service, who was suffering from cancer and long-term depressive illnesses, effectively gambled his retirement fund by using inside knowledge to offload his shares in a pharmaceutical company days before buying them again at a discounted rate.
The court heard that Service made a profit of roughly £11,500, which would have increased to £44,000 if he had retained his shares for one year.
The alarm was raised when Goodbody Stockbrokers alerted the Central Bank to suspicious transactions made by Service, who was one of their clients.
Separately in 2022, the president of the High Court confirmed a number of penalties on high-profile businessman Philip Lynch for insider dealing.
Mr Lynch was a former chairman of An Post, founding chief executive of listed investment group One51 and long-time boss of another listed business, IAWS.
A panel of assessors set up by the Central Bank recommended he be fined €75,000 and disqualified from being involved in a regulated financial services company for five years.
Mr Lynch’s barrister noted it was an atypical instance of inside trading in that it had not been done for his client to make immediate gains.
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