Ubisoft execs accused of insider trading

Five Ubisoft executives have been accused of selling stock in the company ahead of its announcement of two key game delays.

Kotaku reports that CEO Yannis Mallat and four other executives sold shares ahead of the announcement on October 15th 2013 that both Watch Dogs and The Crew were being delayed – news that saw the company’s share price drop by 25 per cent.

The Autorit des marchs financiers (AMF) alleges that pre-knowledge of the announcement was the motivation for the sale.

Those individuals vigorously dispute their implication in this matter and the AMF’s interpretation of the facts,” the publisher has said in response. 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.

Ubisoft itself has not been charged by the AMF. Moreover, three of the Canadian team members implicated in the AMF’s action today filed a motion with the Superior Court of Qubec demanding that the procedure be declared invalid and seeking damages against AMF France and AMF Qubec.”

Ubisoft confirmed that the proceedings will continue in November at the Commission des Sanctions (sanctions board) in Paris.