Report: Yuji Naka receives prison sentence for Square Enix insider trading offences
According to a report from Abema Times, (as translated by VGC) Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison — in addition to receiving a $1.2 million (USD) fine — for his role in insider trading schemes that took place during his time at developer Square Enix.
The ruling was handed down at the Tokyo District Court earlier this morning, whereby the prosecutor’s office successfully argued that Naka had violated Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, stating Naka had shown “no signs of remorse” for the offense. Naka was first arrested in November 2022 under suspicion that he had used insider knowledge in order to draw large sums of money on the stock market. Naka was then re-arrested again a month later on additional charges.
The prosecution argued that Naka, alongside fellow former Square Enix employee Taisuke Sazaki, knowingly invested in Japanese developer ATeam Entertainment, ahead of the announcement that the studio would be developing 2021 mobile release Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. Naka reportedly purchased 120,000 shares in ATeam at a cost of around ¥144.7 million yen (roughly $834,000 USD).
In a separate incident, Naka, Sazaki, and a third employee, Fumiaki Suzuki were charged with purchasing stock in another studio, Aiming, ahead of Square Enix revealing that the studio would be working on Dragon Quest: Tact. In this instance, Naka is suspected of having purchased ¥47 million (roughly $336,300 USD) of shares before the public announcement. The prosecution claimed Naka found out about these deals ahead of time by accessing an internal website containing investment meeting transcriptions.
Naka’s defense team is hoping to reduce the fine and is seeking a
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