The nine were arrested in a dawn raid in their homes in the Stockholm area on Tuesday, after nearly a year of investigation.
It went well, says Jonas Myrdal, acting deputy chief prosecutor at EBM, about the coordinated raid at a dozen locations.
”The case has grown”
In addition to the arrests, searches were made at the homes of a handful of other people who have not been arrested.
We initiated the preliminary investigation last autumn, after the first bid – on Tethys Oil. Then it has continued, the case has grown because to a large extent the same people also bought before the bid on Fortnox, says Myrdal.
The report to EBM came from the Financial Supervisory Authority, which in turn had received reports of suspected transactions from both the Nasdaq Stockholm Stock Exchange and brokerage firms, according to Myrdal.
Exactly how the suspects obtained the insider information is still being investigated.
When it comes to acquisitions, there are a lot of potential leaks because many players are involved. It's a large number of possible sources, but of course we have our suspicions and we have some leads we're looking at a little extra, he says.
He adds that it is largely a matter of a family circle, where the information has been spread.
There are family ties between several of them, but there are also some professional ties.
But originally, the information has come from someone who worked with the bids. Then it has spread to this group.
”Strong” evidence
The suspects are of different ages, but Myrdal does not want to disclose any details.
He describes the evidence as strong, partly with regard to the trading pattern that the suspects had before the bids on Thetys Oil and Fortnox were made public, in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Additionally, several of these nine people have traded before other price-affecting events during the spring of 2025.
EBM has also seized computers and phones, among other things, to strengthen the evidence that information has been transferred.
Myrdal has two days to question the arrested before he must make a decision at lunchtime on Thursday whether to request that one or all of them be detained or released.
