- British Oligarch Joe Lewis Pleads Not Guilty to Insider Trading Charges in Manhattan Court.
- Bond Granted: Lewis’ $300 Million Bond, Co-Defendants Given $250,000 Bond.
- Allegations of a “Brazen” Scheme: Prosecutors Detail Charges of Providing Insider Information to Associates.
In Manhattan, British oligarch Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns Tottenham Hotspur, denied insider trading.
He was granted a bond in the amount of $300 million (£230 million). Prosecutors in New York allege that he devised a “brazen” scheme to enrich his associates.
He allegedly provided them with confidential information that enabled them to profit from the purchase or sale of related securities.
The court granted two co-defendants, Mr. Lewis’ pilots, $250,000 bond.
His attorney, David Zornow, stated previously that charging the magnate was an “egregious error.”
He added that the accusations would be “vigorously defended in court” and that the 86-year-old had voluntarily traveled to the United States to defend himself against the “misguided charges.”
He normally resides in the Bahamas, but on Wednesday he surrendered to US federal authorities.
A spokesperson for Tottenham Hotspur stated in a statement that the charges against Mr. Lewis had no consequence on the club: “This is a legal matter unrelated to the club, so we have no comment.”
The club informed Companies House that Lewis “no longer a person with significant control at the club” in October 2017.
According to the 29-page indictment, Mr. Lewis was charged with 16 counts of security fraud and three counts of conspiracy for offenses allegedly committed between 2013 and 2021.
The US State Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York received Mr. Lewis’s charges in a video statement.
In the video, US attorney Damien Williams said, “We allege that Joe Lewis abused his access to corporate board rooms for years and repeatedly provided inside information to his romantic partners, his personal assistants, and his friends.”
Mr. Williams, SDNY’s federal law enforcement officer, said Mr. Lewis’s friends made millions on the stock market using this intelligence.
“Thanks to [Mr.] Lewis, those wagers were safe,” he asserted. None of this was required. He added, “Joe Lewis is a wealthy man.”
According to the indictment, one pilot texted an acquaintance, “Boss lent Marty and me each $500,000 for this,” and he believed “the Boss has inside information” because “otherwise, why would he make us invest?”
Mr. Lewis allegedly ordered his pilots to sell or buy stock after getting sensitive information.
In addition, the indictment alleges that Mr. Lewis advised his fiancée in July 2019 to invest in a biotech company before the results of its clinical trial were made public.
After talking to his fiancée, he allegedly got into her bank account and invested almost all of her $600,000 in the company. Prosecutors assert that she then transferred the shares for a profit of $849,000.
The indictment alleged that Mr. Lewis advised numerous friends, companions, and employees to invest in stocks using inside information.
Insider trading is the illicit use of confidential information to profit from stock exchange transactions.
Mr. Lewis is reportedly one of the wealthiest individuals in Britain. According to the indictment, he possesses a 98-meter superyacht that serves as his primary residence on occasion.
He is also an investor in the British pub chain Mitchells & Butlers. He rated 39th on the Sunday Times Rich List for 2023, with an estimated net worth of over £5bn.
