Trial starts for Sweden's largest insider scandal

District court proceedings kicked off in Stockholm on Monday for what has been called the largest insider trading scandal in Swedish history.

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Five men stand accused of serious insider trading crimes. The prime suspects are two men referred to in the Swedish press as the Cevian-man, age 36, and the Nordea-man, age 37.

One additional suspect stands accused of being an accessory to serious insider trading crimes.

The accusations are grounded in a number of securities deals made with around 20 companies. According to the prosecution, the deals were conducted on the basis of insider information, generating an estimated profit of 130 million kronor ($18.4 million).

The Cevian-man and the Nordea-man are also charged with serious tax crimes which, like insider trading crimes, carry a possible penalty of several years jail time.

On his passage into the courthouse, the Cevian-man stopped to respond to questions from the media,

“I am here to prove that I haven't earned a penny from insider information and I intend to show that,” he told the TT news agency.

When asked how he intended to prove his innocence, the man responded,

“You will have to see during the trial.”

The 36 year-old also denied claims from the prosecution that the accused discussed their illegal affairs in coded language, making reference to a form of terminology used throughout the financial industry in which every project is given a special name.

District court proceedings are expected to continue into February of next year.