Professor Ariel Dervasi of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Genetics, agreed to pay $ 854,000 to settle the claims filed against him in the United States for the use of insider information in a deal signed for the sale of Israeli smart car developer Mobileye to Intel for $15.3 billion.
According to the indictment filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Prof. Ariel Darvasi and another Israeli, Amir Waldman, purchased shares and options in the weeks preceding the publication of the acquisition with Intel, which was published on March 13 this year.
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The SEC said the acquisition generated a profit of $427,000 to Darvasi and $4.5 million for Waldman after the deal led to a jump of 28.2% in one day. The amount that Darvasi agreed to pay consists of the profit he made on the share plus a fine of the same amount.
According to the SEC, the two defendants were linked to Mobileye through the scientific community of the Hebrew University, which developed the technology of the leaders of which left at least 11 directors and officers in the company.
According to the indictment, Darvasi began buying shares on July 2 after selling 40,000 shares of Teva, the only securities in his account.
The agreement signed with Darvasi is now awaiting approval by the federal court in Manhattan.
The indictment against Amir Waldman, the second Israeli accused of using insider information in a Mobileye deal, states that Waldman managed most of the purchases of leading shares in the six weeks prior to the deal with Intel. He began buying the shares on the day Intel and Mobileye signed an agreement in principle, and these acquisitions yielded a yield of 1,883%.
Waldman’s lawyer said his case was still pending and he refused to comment to Calcalist.
Neither Mobileye nor Intel responded to the arrangement submitted to the court for approval.
A statement on behalf of Prof. Ariel Darvasi says “On March 23, 2017, I learned that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint against me with regard to one of my regular investments on the American stock exchange. It struck me in total surprise. The complaint was filed jointly against me and another person named Amir Waldman. A man I do not know at all (I have not even heard his name before). The complaint was filed without giving me an opportunity to explain the investment considerations. Lawyers with whom I consulted think that the SEC may have acted in bad faith to press me to give incriminating information about Waldman or others – information I would have been happy to provide to him.
“I have faced with serious cancer and management of legal battle in the US unfortunately not an option. So I agreed to a compromise (not a plea bargain) in which I am not convicted of anything, I do not admit anything and I do not deny anything, but pay an agreed fine. In the framework of the settlement agreement, I am not entitled to express itself freely regarding the case, so I will not elaborate. My family and I are happy to put this unfortunate episode behind us and focus on coping with the disease and later on our lives. ” [Calcalist]
