Yuji Naka arrested in Dragon Quest Tact insider trading scandal

Naka said to have purchased 2.8 million yen in Aiming shares ahead of game's announcement.

Yuji Naka, one of the co-creators of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, has been arrested by the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office in an insider trading scandal involving former employer Square Enix.

According to the Special Investigation Department, Naka learned in January 2020 that Square Enix, where he was then an employee, was collaborating with Caravan Stories developer Aiming to develop Dragon Quest Tact. He then allegedly purchased about 10,000 shares of Aiming for approximately 2.8 million yen before the title was announced, suspecting that the company’s stock price would rise after the announcement.

Taisuke Sasaki, another former Square Enix employee, and acquaintance Fumiaki Suzuki were also arrested yesterday on suspected insider trading. The pair are believed to be have purchased about 162,000 shares of Aiming for approximately 47.2 million yen ahead of Dragon Quest Tact‘s announcement.

Thanks, FNN Prime Online.