French stock market regulator AMF have accused five Ubisoft executives of insider trading by selling stock based on inside knowledge.
According to the Autorité des marchés financiers, or AMF, Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat and four other Ubisoft executives all sold stock in the week before October 15th 2013. In this week Ubisoft announced that it would delay the release of both Watch Dogs and The Crew.
As a result of the delay, the company's stock value dropped by 25%. The AMF suspects that the five executives sold their stock to make sure they were not affected by the drop in value.
According to the AMF the executives knew about the delay when they were selling their stock, violating French laws of insider trading, because Ubisoft's headquarters are based in Paris, France.
In a statement the company says that it "is aware that an action being brought by the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) involves five of our team members.". The company states that "those individuals vigorously dispute their implication in this matter and the AMF’s interpretation of the facts.".
The statement also notes that "Yves Guillemot, Co-founder and CEO of Ubisoft, does not question the good faith of the people involved and has reassured them that they have his full support and trust."
