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Man Convicted for Insider Trading on Gonzo's GDH, Other Firms
posted on by Egan Loo
The Tokyo District Court convicted Takeshi Matsubara, a 50-year-old former Aozora Bank employee, of insider trading on GDH (the former parent company of the Gonzo anime studio) and four other companies on Tuesday. The court, led by Judge Yukihiko Imasaki, sentenced Matsubara to a 30-month prison sentence — suspended for four years — a fine of 2 million yen (about US$24,300), and an additional fine of 58 million yen (US$705,000). The prosecution had asked for the same fines, but called for a three-year prison sentence with no suspension under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law.
Among other activities, Matsubara was arrested last April for buying shares at low prices before GDH's partnership with So-net Entertainment Corporation was made public, and then selling the shares at high prices after the partnership was announced in 2007. He gained just under 14 million yen (US$170,000) in profits from these activities while he was in charge of financing at Aozora Bank from 2006 to 2009.
If Matsubara is not convicted of another crime in the next four years, he will not have to serve the prison sentence.
GDH has since absorbed its anime studio subsidiary and adopted the Gonzo name for itself in April of 2009.
Source: Nikkei via Japanimate
