Sonic creator Yuji Naka arrested for suspected insider trading
Former Square Enix employee and Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka has been arrested for suspected insider trading.
Japanese news site FNN reported that the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested Naka in connection with an ongoing investigation around insider trading among some Square Enix employees.
Naka is accused of buying 10,000 shares in developer Aiming for ¥2.8 million ($20,000), ahead of the announcement of Dragon Quest Tact, a mobile spin-off of one of the most popular JRPG series worldwide.
Two more former Square Enix employees, Taisuke Sasaki and Fumiaki Suzuki, were also arrested for allegedly purchasing a combined 162,000 shares for ¥47.2 million ($337,250).
Insider trading is where people use insider knowledge to buy shares cheaply ahead of a business move that will make the shares worth more. At this time, it is unclear if any of the three accused have sold their shares.
Naka left Square Enix in the middle of 2021 after releasing Balan Wonderworld, a platforming game that was critically panned.
Naka would later claim that he was removed as game director six months before launch, and he filed a lawsuit against Square Enix to clear the reputational damage he received due to the game's poor quality.
