Wetteri shareholders face insider trading charges

Three people have been charged with offences involving insider information linked to car dealership company Wetteri, Yle reports, citing Helsingin Sanomat. The accused have denied wrongdoing during the pre-trial investigation.

Wetteri chief executive and main investor Aarne Simula is charged with misuse of insider information. Major shareholder Markku Kankaala, a former chair of the company’s board, is charged with aggravated misuse of insider information.

Heikki Häggkvist and his company, Majalis Oy, are also charged with aggravated misuse of insider information. Häggkvist sold his entire stake in Wetteri Yhtiöt to Simula and Kankaala in May 2022.

The three individuals will answer the charges later at the Helsinki District Court, when the charges will become public.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, the charges concern alleged offences before Soprano, an education company, announced it would buy Wetteri. In summer 2022, Wetteri had said it planned to list on the stock exchange by taking over Soprano’s listing. Soprano’s share price rose 80 percent after the purchase announcement. Wetteri Oyj is based in Oulu.