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Working from home during the coronavirus pandemic gave a former analyst at fund manager Janus Henderson cover to operate an insider-trading scheme from a flat in central London, a court has heard.
Redinel Korfuzi, 37, went on trial on Thursday alongside his sister Oerta Korfuzi, 36, and two other alleged members of a ring that prosecutors claimed netted almost £1mn through illegal bets on share prices in 2020 and 2021.
Jurors were told that the network made use of information that Korfuzi gleaned from his job at Janus Henderson about forthcoming fundraisings by listed companies. They profited from trading positions taken out on personal accounts in companies including Jet2, Hargreaves Lansdown and THG.
The four defendants in the case, who also include personal trainer Rogerio de Aquino, 63, and Dema Almeziad, 40, are all charged with one count of insider dealing and one count of money laundering.
The charges have also been brought against Korfuzi’s partner Iva Spahiu, 37, but jurors were told she would not be tried now after she was found to be unwell. All the individuals deny the charges.
Setting out the prosecution’s case at London’s Southwark Crown Court, Tom Forster KC said the defendants “took advantage of the cloak afforded by national lockdown restrictions”.
Homeworking allowed Korfuzi to operate the scheme “hidden from the supervising eyes and ears of his colleagues” at Janus Henderson, he claimed.
A flat in Marylebone where Korfuzi lived with his sister and partner was the “heart of the enterprise”, Forster said.
He said Korfuzi, who worked as an equities research analyst at Janus Henderson, was “at the centre” of the scheme.
Trading was conducted not in his own name but that of other members of the syndicate to “obscure the link”, the barrister claimed.
De Aquino, who lived at a nearby flat, and his then partner Almeziad, acted as “secret proxies” for the syndicate, Forster claimed.
Jurors were told that Janus Henderson was often contacted in advance by investment banks about prospective placings, a means by which companies tap investors for cash. The “market sounding” process is governed by strict rules to prevent market abuse.
Prosecutors said Korfuzi was put “over the wall” by his employer, giving him access to market-sensitive information about forthcoming placings.
A dip in the share price was in effect the “sweet spot for an unscrupulous insider trader”, Forster said. He described using inside information to profit as “cheating, plain and simple”.
Prosecutors claimed the ring netted about £963,000 from insider trading. Packaging group Smurfit Kappa was the most lucrative position, generating a £146,000 profit. Other positions were taken out in stocks including Daimler and Vonovia, they claimed.
The case continues.
