Coded language, burner phones and shell companies concealed a Paris restaurant-based operation
A sophisticated international insider trading scheme spanning eight years generated tens of millions of dollars by exploiting confidential information held by investment bankers and corporate insiders at major financial institutions, according to charges unsealed Tuesday by federal prosecutors in Boston.
The scheme reveals how senior financial professionals weaponised their access to material non-public information to orchestrate a global trading network across multiple continents.
Reuters reported that the operation ran from 2016 to 2024, with three men leading the effort: Samy Fadi Khouadja, a former Merrill Lynch investment banker; Eamma Safi, his business partner; and Singapore resident Zhi Ge.
Khouadja, 45, worked at Merrill Lynch until 2014 before opening Hexagone, a Paris restaurant that prosecutors allege served as the operation's headquarters.
According to the Bloomberg report, one critical insider worked in the mergers and acquisitions departments of two publicly traded companies, Atos S.E. and Worldline S.A., and invested in the restaurant owned by Safi and Khouadja—a relationship that prosecutors say facilitated the flow of confidential information.
Global Recruitment and Execution
As per the indictment, the defendants recruited traders across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to execute trades based on the confidential information they obtained.
Five additional defendants face charges: Christophe Dong of France; Julien Liu and Patrick Chou, both operating across France and Hong Kong; Cheuk Yue Lee of Hong Kong; and Dev Ananth Durai of Singapore.
These individuals allegedly traded on confidential tips in exchange for a percentage of illicit profits.
The scale of targets demonstrates the scheme's reach across the financial markets.
According to Reuters, the network traded on information concerning AstraZeneca's US$39bn acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, LVMH's approach to acquire Tiffany & Co., and Stryker's plans to acquire Wright Medical.
Additional companies included Atos S.E., Cytokinetics Inc., Gemalto N.V., Ingenico Group S.A., Kindred Healthcare Inc., Medidata Solutions, MorphoSys A.G., Pinnacle Foods Inc., Principia Biopharma Inc., Syntel Inc., and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
Concealment Infrastructure
To evade regulatory detection, the network employed layered concealment methods.
Bloomberg reported that defendants used burner phones, encrypted messaging applications, and coded language—referring to insider trading as "running," deals as "races," and prospective merger partners as "girls" and "models."
They made payments through cash transfers, shell companies, and fabricated invoices to obscure the flow of illicit proceeds.
The defendants also leaked confidential information to journalists specifically to profit from price movements following publication, prosecutors alleged.
Current Status
According to the US Justice Department, Safi remains in US custody and pleaded not guilty in February.
Zhi Ge was provisionally arrested in Singapore in 2024 and faces extradition proceedings.
Khouadja and the five additional defendants remain fugitives.
A trader named Ronald Cordas, who accumulated approximately US$8m trading Tiffany & Co. stock ahead of the LVMH acquisition announcement, pleaded guilty and cooperates with authorities, as per Bloomberg.
The charges were filed as US v. Safi, 24-cr-10200, in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts.
