Ubisoft has been accused of insider trading by the AMF, France’s stock regulation agency. The AMF alleges that Ubisoft Montreal’s CEO, Yannis Mallat, and four other executives, sold portions of their stock right before announcing delays for Watch Dogs and The Crew. This means the executives didn’t lose any money when the Ubisoft stock fell after the delay announcement.
Mallat claims he, and the others, had no knowledge about the delay announcement. Ubisoft is standing behind their executives and are pledging their support. Ubisoft itself isn’t being charged, and three of the implicated executives are seeking damage and filing with the Canadian Supreme Court to stop the AMF’s investigation.
It can be difficult to prove insider trading since the charges all require evidence of what someone knew or was told. Ubisoft is clearly confident they’ll beat these accusations when the proceedings begin later this month.
