Yuji Naka insider trading may cost him $1.2M, 2.5 years in prison

Following his arrest for insider trading last year, Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka could be facing 2.5 years in prison and a $1.2 million fine.

Following his arrest last year for insider trading, Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka could be facing 2.5 years in prison and a $1.2 million fine.

The news comes courtesy of the Abema Times, which reported that at the Tokyo District Court, the case’s prosecutors wanted Naka to serve two years and six months in prison. They also wanted him to pay a fine of ¥2.5 million (roughly $18,000), as well as a surcharge or additional penalty of ¥170 million (roughly $1.225 million). The prosecutors also stated that during the trial, Naka “showed no remorse for his actions”.

The defense attorneys. on the other hand, requested that the court lower the surcharge that Naka had to pay. They also wanted a delay or suspension of his prison sentence. According to the defense, “information that was extremely unrelated to his duties was mistakenly sent to him and he happened to see it.” Defendant Naka himself said that he was “sorry for undermining the fairness, soundness, and credibility of the market”.

This is not the first time Naka was in trouble with authorities over insider trading. Back in November of 2022, he was already arrested for buying 10,000 shares worth ¥2.8 million (around $20,000) from Aiming, a Japanese game development company. The company was developing Dragon Quest Tact at the time. Naka wanted to buy shares for the company while it was cheap and make money from selling it once the company’s share prices went up.He pled guilty to these charges.

In the current and ongoing case, Naka bought 130,000 shares from mobile game developer ATeam Entertainment. The team was planning to develop Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. Reportedly, Naka caught wind of this information via a website that contained information about the games. He then bought the shares and, after selling them, reportedly made ¥20 million (around $146,000).

The court’s final decision will come out on July 7, 2023. We will be sure to update you on whether or not he will pay the fine or be imprisoned once more information about the situation comes out.

That’s all the information we have about the possible prison sentence and fine of Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka. Check out our gaming news articles for the latest in gaming news.