(Bloomberg) -- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. said it fired an employee who is suspected of having engaged in insider trading.
Japan’s fifth-largest bank is fully cooperating with an investigation by authorities and will set up a committee to probe the matter, it said in a statement.
The former employee at the company’s core trust banking unit allegedly made trades using information obtained in the line of duty, according to a Sumitomo Mitsui Trust spokesman. The person reported the trades to the company on Wednesday and was dismissed on Friday, the spokesman added, declining to elaborate on the matter, citing an ongoing investigation.
Kazuya Oyama, president of the unit, said the person was in a managerial position and had allegedly conducted illicit trading multiple times. “We apologize for causing grave concerns to our customers, shareholders and other related parties,” Oyama said at a news briefing in Tokyo. He declined to give further details on the person.
Japan has seen a string of alleged insider trading cases in recent weeks. A Tokyo Stock Exchange employee is being investigated by the securities watchdog on suspicion of such dealings, Japan Exchange Group Inc. said last month.
In a separate incident, local media also reported a judge, who was seconded to the Financial Services Agency, was investigated on suspicion of conducting insider trading.
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