The Israel Securities Authority has questioned Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) chief R&D officer Dr. Ben-Zion Weiner on suspicion of buying shares in a public company based on inside information allegedly obtained from PR executive Zvika Rabin.
Last August, the Securities Authority sent the Evogene Ltd. (TASE:EVGN) case, in which Rabin was investigated, to the Tel Aviv District Attorney for Taxes and Economics. At the time, Rabin headed Kwan Communications Ltd. and was Teva's publicist. He is suspected of giving information he learned about Teva and other public companies during his duties, to associates.
Rabin's wife, an executive at Kwan, and the company's attorney are also under investigation for insider trading. They allegedly bought shares in public companies, which were Kwan clients, before the relevant information was publicly known. The investigation alleges that Rabin and the other suspects made more than NIS 1 million on the use of the insider information.
The Tel Aviv District Attorney told "Globes" in response, "The case is still under investigation, and no decision has yet been made on it." It did not confirm that Weiner was investigated in the case.
Weiner declined to comment on the report. So far as is known, he is not suspected of using any insider information about Teva itself.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 26, 2010
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