Ubisoft Montreal chief Yannis Mallat and four other Ubisoft execs are publicly disputing allegations by the French finance market regulator AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers) that they engaged in insider trading three years ago.
As Kotaku points out, this is notable because the AMF is alleging the Ubisoft employees all sold off company stock shortly before October 15, 2013, when the company announced it was delaying the release of both Watch Dogs and The Crew, leaving a big gap in its holiday lineup.
Ubisoft’s stock value dropped significantly after that announcement, and the AMF alleges that the aforementioned employees sold off their stock beforehand because they knew about the delays ahead of time.
Mallat recently told Canadian outlet La Presse that he only learned of the delay after he sold his shares, and alleged that the AMF was not handling the case correctly.
Today, Ubisoft issued a statement to Gamasutra and other media outlets outlining its support for its employees:
It’s true that the five Ubisoft employees targeted by the AMF (3 in Canada, 2 in Paris) are expected to go before the AMF Enforcement Committee in Paris on November 18th.