LeoVegas Director Philip Doftvik Arrested Last Week on Suspicion of Insider Trading
Posted on: November 18, 2022, 12:58h.
Last updated on: November 18, 2022, 01:32h.
LeoVegas’ director of corporate finance and investor relations Philip Doftvik was one of three men detained last week by Swedish authorities. They were held on suspicion of insider trading, gaming business outlet EGR reports.
Doftvik, 36, and two other men who have no direct connection to the company, Alexander Westerdal and Radomir Danilovic, were arrested on November 10. Doftvik has worked for LeoVegas since 2015.
All three are suspected of making trades “worth millions” of Swedish Krona on LeoVegas shares while party to privileged information about MGM Resort’s intention to acquire the company.
“According to the court’s decision, there is probable cause for the suspicion of serious insider trading and there is risk that the investigation of this matter will be obstructed unless they are detained,” a spokesperson for the Stockholm District Court told EGR.
Doftvik Oversees M&A
MGM’s $600 million bid was announced on May 2, 2022, causing LeoVegas’ shares to skyrocket by 42% in one day.
The illegal trades are suspected of having been made in February, March, and April by Doftvik, in March and April by Danilovic, and in April by Westerdal, according to the Stockholm District Court.
The company’s board had known about the deal more than five months prior to the May announcement, Swedish financial newspaper, Dagens Industri, reported.
Doftvik isn’t a LeoVegas board member. But as corporate finance director, he oversees the company’s M&A activity. This included its 2016 IPO and acquisition of Royal Panda, according to his LinkedIn page.
This contradicts a statement made by the LeoVegas press manager early in the week which confirmed a company employee had been arrested, but claimed it was not a “person on the board or management team.”
“As a company, we set high standards for ourselves when it comes to regulatory compliance, and since June, we have cooperated with the authorities in their investigation,” the spokesperson added.
Casino.org has contacted LeoVegas for comment. The company had not responded at the time of publication.
Three More Suspects
The District Court also revealed to EGR that there are three additional suspects in the case. These suspects haven’t been named or arrested at this time.
LeoVegas’ Stockholm offices were raided by Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority (SEC) on June 7 this year. Later that day, the agency announced it had launched a preliminary investigation into the possible insider trading of the company’s shares.
This did not deter MGM in its pursuit of LeoVegas. The big-money deal was finalized in September 2022.
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Source: casino.org
