Sonic the Hedgehog and Balan Wonderworld creator Yuji Naka has been formally indicted following his arrest for alleged offenses involving insider trading at Square Enix. Taisuke Sasaki, another former Square Enix employee, was indicted as well.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has determined that Yuji Naka had confidential information involving Square Enix’s plans to develop Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier with studio Ateam Entertainment. This information would allow Naka to purposefully sell stock once its value rose after the game’s announcement.
According to NHK, Yuji Naka used the information to purchase roughly 144.7 million yen ($834,000) of Ateam stock before the game’s announcement was made. Further, Taisuke Sasaki purchased roughly 105 million yen ($787,000) of stock with the same motive. Currently, it has not yet been determined if both individuals will stand trial (Thanks, VGC).
Previously, Yuji Naka was first arrested for alleged insider trading involving Dragon Quest Tact developer Aiming and publisher Square Enix. Naka purchased roughly 2.8 million yen in Aiming stock ahead of the game’s release. The Sonic the Hedgehog creator was arrested a second time for his insider trading scheme involving Ateam Entertainment and Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. So far, he has been indicated for his second arrest.
Lastly, Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier ends service on January 11, 2023 for Android and iOS.