Billionaire Soros among defendants in insider trading case
PARIS (AP) - American billionaire investor George Soros went on trial Thursday with two others for their alleged roles in a 14-year-old insider-trading case, one of the most high-profile financial scandals in France.
Soros, president of Soros Fund Management in New York, appeared at the Paris Criminal Court for the opening of the trial in which he and other businessmen are accused of buying up stock in French bank Societe Generale before a failed takeover that pushed up the price.
The Hungarian-born Soros, 72, is one of only four defendants left of 11 people who were originally placed under formal investigation, following a French judge's decision to dismiss charges against the others.
Two other businessmen implicated in the scandal - Edmond Safra and Robert Maxwell - have since died.
The other two defendants are Jean-Charles Naouri, former head of the office of then-Finance Minister Pierre Beregovoy; and Lebanese businessman Samir Traboulsi.
Former French banker Jean-Pierre Peyraud was also scheduled to stand trial, but the court ruled the 88-year-old must undergo a medical analysis because of problems with his memory and cardiovascular system.
His case will come up again in January.
The defendants are suspected of having benefitted from privileged information during an operation to try to buy up part of the capital of Societe Generale, which was privatized in 1987.
The bank's stock price went up during an unsuccessful takeover bid in 1988.
The defendants are accused of having obtained insider information before the abortive corporate raid pushed up the price of the stock.
All deny the allegations.
Soros said he hoped the trial would "show that I am not involved, that I got inadvertently involved in this situation."
"I have learned a lot today about the Societe Generale that I never knew before, and I am sure that I will be exonerated," he said after the hearing.
As the trial opened, defense lawyers argued that the case should be thrown out because the case took so long to bring to court.
Prosecutor Marie-Christine Daubigney argued the French justice system was not to blame, saying the case was held up by authorities in Switzerland who took years to respond to information requests.
The court decided not to throw out the case.
Soros was reportedly the first American to earn a billion dollars in a single year.
Born in Hungary in 1930, he emigrated to the United States in 1956 and became a citizen five years later.
In 1973, he established the Soros Fund Management with Quantam its principal fund.
He has spent recent years engaged in philanthropy.
Soros and Naouri face charges of insider trading, while Traboulsi faces a slightly lesser charge.
A charge of insider trading can bring a maximum of two years in prison and a 1.5 million euro (US$1.5 million) fine, though such a heavy sentence would be highly unlikely in the case.
According to court documents, Soros is accused of profiting by US$2.2 million; Traboulsi, 23 million French francs (US$3.5 million); and Naouri, 1.9 million French francs, (US$289,200).
The trial is expected to last until a final hearing on Nov. 20, and the verdict will likely come later. - AP
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