Former Square Enix employees Taisuke Sazaki and Fumiaki Suzuki have been arrested after alleged engaging in insider trading, purchasing stock in Aiming just prior to the confirmation of Dragon Quest’s development, first reported by Automaton.
The previous Square Enix employees allegedly purchased a combined ¥47 million, or $336,300, of stock in Aiming. The Japanese game company Aiming has notably produced Dragon Quest. The long-running franchise has seen success both in Japan and abroad, but its most recent installment, Dragon Quest XI, shipping more than 5.5 million copies.
In late May, Square Enix announced an upcoming mobile expansion to the franchise in Dragon Quest Treasures, projected to release on Dec. 9, 2022. Given that both Sazaki and Suzuki purchased significant stock in the developers shortly before this announcement, suspicions quickly arose regarding potential insider trading.
Square Enix has released several statements regarding the arrest of their two former employees, confirming that the company is working with authorities to investigate the possibility of insider trading.
“We have been fully cooperating with requests from the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. As the investigation by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is underway, we will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation.”
In a later statement, Square Enix claimed that it has taken measures to ensure that a similar situation could not happen again, creating a more refined system for communicating confidential information and strengthening in-house training for employees.
While Dragon Quest Treasure’s release date is soon approaching, the release dates for both former Square Enix developers may be significantly further out if they are found guilty.
