A compromise has been reached on suspected use of insider information by one of two Israelis ahead of the huge deal announced in March by which Intel is acquiring Israeli smart car developer Mobileye (NYSE: MBLY) for $15.3 billion. Prof. Ariel Darvasi from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Department of Genetics and a resident of Mevasseret Zion, has agreed to pay $854,000 in order to settle claims by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of insider trading before the acquisition was announced. The agreement is subject to the approval of Judge Richard Berman of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.
Prof. Darvasi has not admitted to any offense but has agreed to the settlement. He declared, "I deny all the allegations - I have not been convicted of any misdemeanor. I am currently struggling to overcome cancer of the pancreas and a legal struggle is way beyond what I can take on."
The SEC has filed an indictment against Prof. Darvasi and another Israeli Amir Waldman. According to the charges, the two Israelis were in contact with people working at Mobileye before the acquisition, bought shares before the announcement of the sale and raked in huge profits, illegally.
The indictment against them claims that they took advantage of their connections with people at the Hebrew University where Mobileye's technology was developed and bought shares. Darvasi allegedly earned $427,000 in capital gains while Waldman profited by $4.5 million. Waldman is a self-employed technician who lives on Moshav Yarkona near Petah Tikva.
Judge Berman had issued an order freezing the assets of the two Israelis due to a reasonable likelihood that US trading laws had been violated by insider information offenses. There are no suspicions against either Intel or Mobileye and therefore both companies declined to comment on the affair.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 26, 2017
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