Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka has been arrested on suspicion of insider training for an investment he supposedly made while employed at Square Enix.
According to IGN Japan and Fuji News Network, Naka and two other former Square Enix employees were arrested on Friday by the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.
He allegedly paid ¥2.8 million (about $20,000 USD) for 10,000 shares of game company Aiming. The purchase of shares occurred before Aiming got to announce its collaboration with Square Enix on the mobile game Dragon Quest Tact.
The other former SE employees, Taisuke Sazaki and Fumiaki Suzuki, allegedly purchased a combined amount of 162,000 shares at a cost of ¥47 million (about $336,300), between December 2019 and February 2020. The public announcement of the collaboration between both companies was made on February 5th, 2020.
Though Naka worked at Sega for many years, he left the company in 2006 to become an indie developer. He joined Square Enix in 2018 to work on Balan Wonderworld. However, he said Square Enix removed him from his duties six months before the release of Balan Wonderland and filed a lawsuit against SE. Balan Wonderland received negative reviews. Naka first announced his departure from SE in June 2021.
[Sources]: IGN: Sonic the Hedgehog Co-Creator Reportedly Arrested for Insider Trading – [Archive] – [Screenshot]. IGN Japan: 「ソニック」シリーズの生みの親、ゲームクリエイターの中裕司が逮捕 スクエニ新作ゲームをめぐるインサイダー容疑にて – [Archive] – [Screenshot]. Los Angeles Times: ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ co-creator Yuji Naka arrested on suspicion of insider trading – [Archive] – [Screenshot].
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