Malta firm denies any knowledge of US scam

A Maltese financial services company at the centre of a US investigation into a $100 million insider trading scandal is insisting it has no knowledge of the alleged scam. On Monday, the US Security and Exchange Commission filed legal proceedings against 15 companies, including St Julian’s-based trading firm Exante Ltd. The SEC, a federal agency tasked with maintaining fair markets, is claiming the companies utilised leaked company earnings reports from a hacking scheme between 2010 and 2015. In all, American investigators believe Exante could have made in excess of $24 million through the scam over the past five years. When contacted, the company’s head of trading, George Grech, declined to comment. However, in a statement, the company said Exante was not a defendant in the criminal proceedings and none of its directors, owners or employees had been charged. Read more in the Times of Malta.