Latest news with #Albanian
Mint
7 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Insider Trading Siblings Used Lockdown to Make £1 Million
(Bloomberg) -- Before the market opened on Feb. 4, 2020, traders were watching Swiss testing company SGS SA, waiting for its shares to drop. Overnight it had been announced that the Von Finck family were going to sell 2.3 billion francs ($2.8 billion) of their holding. That's a huge chunk of stock for buyers to absorb, and the price fell the most in nearly five years. 'Stay ready,' Janus Henderson Group Plc analyst Redinel Korfuzi wrote in a message to his sister Oerta in their native Albanian, 55 seconds after the bell that day. Two minutes later, from the mutual fund giant's office in Bishopsgate, London, he messaged again: 'Stay ready because we have to close it if needed.' His sister was in the cramped living room of the flat they shared in Marylebone. The day before, she had opened two highly-leveraged short positions. With a little over £10,000 ($13,400) of equity, she had amassed a position with an initial notional volume of more than £150,000, wagering that SGS's stock would fall. With no answer from Oerta, her brother messaged again, and called her, finally getting through at 8:04 a.m. 'Open the platform and stay ready,' he said on WhatsApp shortly after an eight-second call. Finally, his sister responded: 'Gati Ikam' or, in English, 'I have them ready.' The exchange is just one of several that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority argued at a London trial was clear evidence of trading on insider information. On Thursday, a jury at Southwark Crown Court agreed, finding the two guilty of insider dealing and money laundering. Two others, Redinel's personal trainer Rogerio de Aquino, 63, and his partner Dema Almeziad, 40, were acquitted of all charges. At its heart, Redinel's plan was little different to countless other insider trading scandals. As part of his job, he had access to advance information on companies, in this case upcoming large share sales that often lead to price declines when announced. That's what happened with the SGS placing, which Redinel was informed about not long before his sister shorted it. The Korfuzis repeated this trick more than 10 times over the next year or so, continuing as the two worked from home during Covid lockdowns. With the SGS trade, Oerta and her brother made £7,747 in a little over 20 minutes. Before they were stopped by an FCA raid in March 2021, they had made almost £1 million. It was a 'trading club to cheat the market,' according to the prosecution's lawyer, Tom Forster. During the trial, 36-year-old Oerta said she made the trades based on her analysis, without knowing her brother had any insider knowledge. But the jury refused to believe that she was 'subconsciously' influenced by phone conversations across the living room, that she quickly analyzed charts and technical indicators for company names she overheard and placed profitable bets. Redinel, 38, denied involvement in the trades, at one point saying he was too busy saving what he called a 'dying fund' at Janus Henderson. In its case, the FCA presented evidence such as call records, data from phones and laptops, as well as a trove of WhatsApp and Telegram messages. 'Check out the app urgently. Check out the other app,' one of Redinel's translated WhatsApps to his sister said. That was sent less than a minute after he received market sensitive information about a proposed sale of £500 million worth of Hargreaves Lansdown Plc shares in February 2020. Redinel was at Janus Henderson's office at the time and referring to Telegram as the other app, according to the prosecutors. One minute after he got the Hargreaves information, Redinel called Oerta for eight seconds — when the prosecutors say he could've passed on the company's name. Within 15 minutes, Oerta moved money between accounts and began shorting the shares. Other companies traded included vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck Holding AG, budget airline Jet2 Plc and pharmaceutical firm Dermapharm Holding SE. Janus Henderson wasn't accused of any wrongdoing. 'He was in truth the king of stocks. She the enthusiastic apprentice,' Forster said during the trial. According to prosecutors, British national de Aquino and his Saudi fiance were 'secret proxies' for the trading syndicate and handled 'dirty cash.' Both had pleaded not guilty and maintained they didn't know Redinel had insider information. They didn't testify during the trial. To make the bets, Redinel helped de Aquino and Almeziad open trading accounts. De Aquino had told police that they were 'two idiots' who were hoodwinked by him. Oerta made about £430,000 from the trades, while de Aquino and his girlfriend raked in £135,000. Another trading account controlled by the siblings posted £408,000. The siblings claimed to have never discussed the trading or the massive profits with each other. The prosecution saw it differently. 'The truth is for the residents of Brunswick House there was never going to be enough money,' Forster said. 'Arrogance, pride, entitlement and greed drove them on – and it has ruined them.' More stories like this are available on
Economic Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Insider trading siblings used lockdown to make £1 million
Live Events Bloomberg 'Two Idiots' (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel Before the market opened on Feb. 4, 2020, traders were watching Swiss testing company SGS SA, waiting for its shares to it had been announced that the Von Finck family were going to sell 2.3 billion francs ($2.8 billion) of their holding. That's a huge chunk of stock for buyers to absorb, and the price fell the most in nearly five years.'Stay ready,' Janus Henderson Group Plc analyst Redinel Korfuzi wrote in a message to his sister Oerta in their native Albanian, 55 seconds after the bell that minutes later, from the mutual fund giant's office in Bishopsgate, London, he messaged again: 'Stay ready because we have to close it if needed.'His sister was in the cramped living room of the flat they shared in Marylebone. The day before, she had opened two highly-leveraged short positions. With a little over £10,000 ($13,400) of equity, she had amassed a position with an initial notional volume of more than £150,000, wagering that SGS's stock would no answer from Oerta, her brother messaged again, and called her, finally getting through at 8:04 a.m.'Open the platform and stay ready,' he said on WhatsApp shortly after an eight-second call. Finally, his sister responded: 'Gati Ikam' or, in English, 'I have them ready.'The exchange is just one of several that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority argued at a London trial was clear evidence of trading on insider information. On Thursday, a jury at Southwark Crown Court agreed, finding the two guilty of insider dealing and money laundering. Two others, Redinel's personal trainer Rogerio de Aquino, 63, and his partner Dema Almeziad, 40, were acquitted of all its heart, Redinel's plan was little different to countless other insider trading scandals. As part of his job, he had access to advance information on companies, in this case upcoming large share sales that often lead to price declines when announced. That's what happened with the SGS placing, which Redinel was informed about not long before his sister shorted Korfuzis repeated this trick more than 10 times over the next year or so, continuing as the two worked from home during Covid lockdowns. With the SGS trade, Oerta and her brother made £7,747 in a little over 20 minutes. Before they were stopped by an FCA raid in March 2021, they had made almost £1 was a 'trading club to cheat the market,' according to the prosecution's lawyer, Tom the trial, 36-year-old Oerta said she made the trades based on her analysis, without knowing her brother had any insider knowledge. But the jury refused to believe that she was 'subconsciously' influenced by phone conversations across the living room, that she quickly analyzed charts and technical indicators for company names she overheard and placed profitable 38, denied involvement in the trades, at one point saying he was too busy saving what he called a 'dying fund' at Janus its case, the FCA presented evidence such as call records, data from phones and laptops, as well as a trove of WhatsApp and Telegram messages.'Check out the app urgently. Check out the other app,' one of Redinel's translated WhatsApps to his sister was sent less than a minute after he received market sensitive information about a proposed sale of £500 million worth of Hargreaves Lansdown Plc shares in February 2020. Redinel was at Janus Henderson's office at the time and referring to Telegram as the other app, according to the minute after he got the Hargreaves information, Redinel called Oerta for eight seconds — when the prosecutors say he could've passed on the company's name. Within 15 minutes, Oerta moved money between accounts and began shorting the companies traded included vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck Holding AG, budget airline Jet2 Plc and pharmaceutical firm Dermapharm Holding SE. Janus Henderson wasn't accused of any wrongdoing.'He was in truth the king of stocks. She the enthusiastic apprentice,' Forster said during the to prosecutors, British national de Aquino and his Saudi fiance were 'secret proxies' for the trading syndicate and handled 'dirty cash.'Both had pleaded not guilty and maintained they didn't know Redinel had insider information. They didn't testify during the make the bets, Redinel helped de Aquino and Almeziad open trading accounts. De Aquino had told police that they were 'two idiots' who were hoodwinked by made about £430,000 from the trades, while de Aquino and his girlfriend raked in £135,000. Another trading account controlled by the siblings posted £408, siblings claimed to have never discussed the trading or the massive profits with each other. The prosecution saw it differently.'The truth is for the residents of Brunswick House there was never going to be enough money,' Forster said. 'Arrogance, pride, entitlement and greed drove them on – and it has ruined them.'
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Insider trading siblings used lockdown to make £1 million
Before the market opened on Feb. 4, 2020, traders were watching Swiss testing company SGS SA, waiting for its shares to drop. Overnight it had been announced that the Von Finck family were going to sell 2.3 billion francs ($2.8 billion) of their holding. That's a huge chunk of stock for buyers to absorb, and the price fell the most in nearly five years. 'Stay ready,' Janus Henderson Group Plc analyst Redinel Korfuzi wrote in a message to his sister Oerta in their native Albanian, 55 seconds after the bell that day. Two minutes later, from the mutual fund giant's office in Bishopsgate, London, he messaged again: 'Stay ready because we have to close it if needed.' His sister was in the cramped living room of the flat they shared in Marylebone. The day before, she had opened two highly-leveraged short positions. With a little over £10,000 ($13,400) of equity, she had amassed a position with an initial notional volume of more than £150,000, wagering that SGS's stock would fall. Live Events With no answer from Oerta, her brother messaged again, and called her, finally getting through at 8:04 a.m. 'Open the platform and stay ready,' he said on WhatsApp shortly after an eight-second call. Finally, his sister responded: 'Gati Ikam' or, in English, 'I have them ready.' The exchange is just one of several that the UK's Financial Conduct Authority argued at a London trial was clear evidence of trading on insider information. On Thursday, a jury at Southwark Crown Court agreed, finding the two guilty of insider dealing and money laundering. Two others, Redinel's personal trainer Rogerio de Aquino, 63, and his partner Dema Almeziad, 40, were acquitted of all charges. At its heart, Redinel's plan was little different to countless other insider trading scandals. As part of his job, he had access to advance information on companies, in this case upcoming large share sales that often lead to price declines when announced. That's what happened with the SGS placing, which Redinel was informed about not long before his sister shorted it. The Korfuzis repeated this trick more than 10 times over the next year or so, continuing as the two worked from home during Covid lockdowns. With the SGS trade, Oerta and her brother made £7,747 in a little over 20 minutes. Before they were stopped by an FCA raid in March 2021, they had made almost £1 million. It was a 'trading club to cheat the market,' according to the prosecution's lawyer, Tom Forster. During the trial, 36-year-old Oerta said she made the trades based on her analysis, without knowing her brother had any insider knowledge. But the jury refused to believe that she was 'subconsciously' influenced by phone conversations across the living room, that she quickly analyzed charts and technical indicators for company names she overheard and placed profitable bets. Redinel, 38, denied involvement in the trades, at one point saying he was too busy saving what he called a 'dying fund' at Janus Henderson. Bloomberg In its case, the FCA presented evidence such as call records, data from phones and laptops, as well as a trove of WhatsApp and Telegram messages. 'Check out the app urgently. Check out the other app,' one of Redinel's translated WhatsApps to his sister said. That was sent less than a minute after he received market sensitive information about a proposed sale of £500 million worth of Hargreaves Lansdown Plc shares in February 2020. Redinel was at Janus Henderson's office at the time and referring to Telegram as the other app, according to the prosecutors. One minute after he got the Hargreaves information, Redinel called Oerta for eight seconds — when the prosecutors say he could've passed on the company's name. Within 15 minutes, Oerta moved money between accounts and began shorting the shares. Other companies traded included vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck Holding AG, budget airline Jet2 Plc and pharmaceutical firm Dermapharm Holding SE. Janus Henderson wasn't accused of any wrongdoing. 'He was in truth the king of stocks. She the enthusiastic apprentice,' Forster said during the trial. 'Two Idiots' According to prosecutors, British national de Aquino and his Saudi fiance were 'secret proxies' for the trading syndicate and handled 'dirty cash.' Both had pleaded not guilty and maintained they didn't know Redinel had insider information. They didn't testify during the trial. To make the bets, Redinel helped de Aquino and Almeziad open trading accounts. De Aquino had told police that they were 'two idiots' who were hoodwinked by him. Oerta made about £430,000 from the trades, while de Aquino and his girlfriend raked in £135,000. Another trading account controlled by the siblings posted £408,000. The siblings claimed to have never discussed the trading or the massive profits with each other. The prosecution saw it differently. 'The truth is for the residents of Brunswick House there was never going to be enough money,' Forster said. 'Arrogance, pride, entitlement and greed drove them on – and it has ruined them.'
Scottish Sun
12 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Brazen Albanian drug dealer who posed flaunting £250k cash from heroin sales is allowed to stay in UK
Officials were trying to deport the former model just eight months before his arrest GANGSTER'S PARADISE Brazen Albanian drug dealer who posed flaunting £250k cash from heroin sales is allowed to stay in UK Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN ALBANIAN drug dealer who flaunted £250,000 in cash made from selling heroin has been allowed to stay in the UK. Olsi Beheluli, who was sentenced to 11 years behind bars in 2015, has been told he won't be deported. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 An Albanian drug dealer has been allowed to stay in the UK Credit: SWNS:South West News Service 4 Olsi Beheluli brazenly posed with huge stacks of cash Credit: SWNS:South West News Service The Albanian national, who arrived in England when he was nine-years-old, was caged after cops found him with eight kilograms of high-purity heroin. Beheluli, 33, played a "senior role" in the drug ring but, The Home Office and National Crime Agency (NCA) were informed he has to stay in the UK, as reported by The Telegraph. Officials were trying to deport the former model just eight months before his arrest in 2015. The National Crime Agency found a picture of him surrounded by an estimated £250,000 after raids in London. Beheluli was later found guilty of conspiring to supply class A drugs and sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court. He appeared alongside fellow gang members Besim Topalli, then 29, and Azem Proshka, then 23. It was previously reported Proshka and Topalli would be deported after they serve ten years in prison. The duo admitted conspiring to supply drugs, money laundering and possessing fake ID documents. National Crime Agency branch commander Oliver Higgins said: "Beheluli seemed to enjoy the high life and gambling with the money he made from drug dealing, but in the end his luck run out. "These men were involved in supplying significant quantities of high-purity class A drugs, as demonstrated by the value of the cash, cocaine and heroin we have seized from them. "But they were unaware that they were being watched by the NCA, and their arrest and subsequent conviction should have the wider criminal fraternity looking over their shoulders." Home Office officials as well as the NCA, previously argued must Beheluli have been operating high up within the criminal organisation to be trusted with such large sums of cash. But a lower-tier tribunal judge threw out this allegation due to a lack of physical evidence or witness testimony. Beheluli arrived in the UK in November 2000, when his father claimed asylum. His father's applications were originally rejected, but in 2006 they were granted discretionary leave to remain - which later became indefinite leave to remain. Beheluli was granted British citizenship in April 2014, but caught with the drugs and wads of cash by October. The Home Office tired to deport him and argued he had lied on his citizenship forms when he stated there was nothing 'which reflected adversely on his character'. They claimed Beheluli must have held a "senior role" within the drug dealing enterprise. The court was told by the Home Office: 'It is beyond logic to accept that [he] would be trusted with such a consignment of drugs if [he was] not already involved in the supply of Class A drugs.' However, the lower tier tribunal ruled that there was insufficient evidence to reach such a conclusion. The tribunal ruled: 'There is, for example, no surveillance or other evidence from the NCA and there is no opinion evidence from a police officer, for example, to support the suggestion that only a senior and trusted member of an organised criminal gang would be entrusted with such a quantity of drugs. 'There was no evidence of sufficient cogency to establish that the appellant had been involved in criminality at the time that he said that there was nothing adverse to declare about his character.' However, the upper tribunal rejected this and has scheduled a re-hearing. It ruled: 'Whether or not there was a statement from a police officer, and whether or not there was further evidence from the NCA, that view was deserving of respect and was capable of supporting the common-sense stance of the Secretary of State.' 4 Fellow drug dealer Ardi Beshiri also showed off wads of cash 4 Human trafficker Luan Plakici relaxed on a sofa with a handful of bills Credit: PA:Press Association
The Irish Sun
12 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Brazen Albanian drug dealer who posed flaunting £250k cash from heroin sales is allowed to stay in UK
AN ALBANIAN drug dealer who flaunted £250,000 in cash made from selling heroin has been allowed to stay in the UK. 4 An Albanian drug dealer has been allowed to stay in the UK Credit: SWNS:South West News Service 4 Olsi Beheluli brazenly posed with huge stacks of cash Credit: SWNS:South West News Service The Albanian national, who arrived in England when he was nine-years-old, was caged after cops found him with eight kilograms of high-purity heroin. Beheluli, 33, played a "senior role" in the drug ring but, The Home Office and National Crime Agency (NCA) were informed he has to stay in the UK, as reported by Officials were trying to deport the former model just eight months before his arrest in 2015. The National Crime Agency found a picture of him surrounded by an estimated £250,000 after raids in London. Read More Beheluli was later found guilty of conspiring to supply class A drugs and sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court. He appeared alongside fellow gang members Besim Topalli, then 29, and Azem Proshka, then 23. It was previously reported Proshka and Topalli would be deported after they serve ten years in prison. The duo admitted conspiring to supply drugs, money laundering and possessing fake ID documents. Most read in The Sun National Crime Agency branch commander Oliver Higgins said: "Beheluli seemed to enjoy the high life and gambling with the money he made from drug dealing, but in the end his luck run out. "These men were involved in supplying significant quantities of high-purity class A drugs, as demonstrated by the value of the cash, cocaine and heroin we have seized from them. "But they were unaware that they were being watched by the NCA, and their arrest and subsequent conviction should have the wider criminal fraternity looking over their shoulders." Home Office officials as well as the NCA, previously argued must Beheluli have been operating high up within the criminal organisation to be trusted with such large sums of cash. But a lower-tier tribunal judge threw out this allegation due to a lack of physical evidence or witness testimony. Beheluli arrived in the UK in November 2000, when his father claimed asylum. His father's applications were originally rejected, but in 2006 they were granted discretionary leave to remain - which later became indefinite leave to remain. Beheluli was granted British citizenship in April 2014, but caught with the drugs and wads of cash by October. The Home Office tired to deport him and argued he had lied on his citizenship forms when he stated there was nothing 'which reflected adversely on his character'. They claimed Beheluli must have held a "senior role" within the drug dealing enterprise. The court was told by the Home Office: 'It is beyond logic to accept that [he] would be trusted with such a consignment of drugs if [he was] not already involved in the supply of Class A drugs.' However, the lower tier tribunal ruled that there was insufficient evidence to reach such a conclusion. The tribunal ruled: 'There is, for example, no surveillance or other evidence from the NCA and there is no opinion evidence from a police officer, for example, to support the suggestion that only a senior and trusted member of an organised criminal gang would be entrusted with such a quantity of drugs. 'There was no evidence of sufficient cogency to establish that the appellant had been involved in criminality at the time that he said that there was nothing adverse to declare about his character.' However, the upper tribunal rejected this and has scheduled a re-hearing. It ruled: 'Whether or not there was a statement from a police officer, and whether or not there was further evidence from the NCA, that view was deserving of respect and was capable of supporting the common-sense stance of the Secretary of State.' 4 Fellow drug dealer Ardi Beshiri also showed off wads of cash 4 Human trafficker Luan Plakici relaxed on a sofa with a handful of bills Credit: PA:Press Association
