JAPANESE PUBLIC TV BROADCASTER TO PROBE EMPLOYEES OVER INSIDER TRADING
January 23rd 2008 07:59
Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said on Saturday that it will ask each of its 11,000 employees about their stock transactions, including whether they trade based on unpublished information obtained through their work.
Japan Times reports this comes after two reporters and a director were accused on Thursday of engaging in insider trading in 2007.
NHK has also decided to draw up clear rules on stock trading and to improve the information management of its news editing system, officials said.
NHK president Genichi Hashimoto said that the broadcaster is in the middle of questioning about 5,000 employees involved in news gathering and reporting about stock-trading activity.
The move was triggered by Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Hiroya Masuda, who urged the broadcaster to immediately question ‘all employees’ in the news division about stock-trading activity and announce any findings to the public.
First casualty of the probe was the head of NHK, Genichi Hashimoto, who quit on Monday, taking responsibility for reporters' alleged involvement in insider trading. Two reporters and one director allegedly bought 1,000 to 3,000 shares each in a popular restaurant chain on March 8 when an exclusive report about its plan to absorb a sushi group was broadcast by NHK.
They sold the stocks the next day and earned between 100,000-400,000 yen (A$1,100-4,400) in profits each, according to NHK. Two of the three employees have admitted obtaining the corporate information through NHK's internal news editing system and making the stock purchases shortly before it was broadcast.
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