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Former CEO Dominique Leroy is accused of selling a packet of Proximus shares, knowing their price would soon fall
Last August, then-CEO of Proximus, Dominique Leroy, sold a packet of company shares for a total of €285,342. At the time, the move was considered unremarkable, with this sort of sale being fairly common for high-level execs.
However, in September it became apparent that Leroy would be leaving Proximus to take up the position of CEO at Dutch telco KPN. This move would see Proximus shares fall 2% and called into question Leroy’s foreknowledge of the move at the time of her share packet sale.
Given the time frame, an investigation of insider trading was opened against Leroy by both the public prosecutors office and the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), which reportedly included a search of her home and Proximus office.
The news of the investigation, which began around 8 months ago, saw KPN drop Leroy from her new post as CEO.
Now the investigation is complete, with the dossier being passed to the prosecutors office, which will decide whether to take the case to court.
For her part, Leroy maintains her innocence.
"At the time of the sale, she was not yet negotiating with KPN but was in discussion with Proximus about the extension of her contract,” explained Leroy’s lawyer. “The decision to buy the shares to sell had been taken much earlier."
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