Former and current SoftwareOne staff targeted by insider trading probe

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ZURICH, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Swiss technology firm SoftwareOne said on Wednesday searches were conducted at its offices in Leipzig, Germany and Stans, Switzerland linked to a probe into five non-executive current or former employees for potential insider trading violations.

SoftwareOne made its statement after Swiss prosecutors said searches were carried out in Switzerland, Germany and Britain in a probe into five individuals at a Swiss technology company over suspected insider trading.

Residences and company offices were searched, they said.

The Swiss attorney general’s office, or OAG, did not name the company, but said all five suspects were believed to have held senior positions at the firm during the relevant period.

Prosecutors allege that in 2024, the five each sold large quantities of the company’s shares before it published two pre-market press releases that negatively impacted its stock price.

The OAG alleges the five suspects exploited the confidential information in the releases and thus avoided financial losses of up to 2.49 million Swiss francs ($3.11 million).

SoftwareOne, which is based in Stans, and the OAG said the company itself is not accused of wrongdoing.

The firm said it is fully cooperating with authorities.

($1 = 0.7998 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Oliver HirtWriting by Dave GrahamEditing by Ludwig Burger)