Once a celebrated stock market star in Germany, our financial markets regulator is also investigating the Upper Austrian Werner Lanthaler. This also concerns unauthorized inside information.
Once again, a corporate crime story about an Austrian who was once celebrated as a star on the German stock exchange floor is making headlines in our neighboring country. After Wirecard manager Markus Braun, who was accused of suspected fraud, among other things, Upper Austrian-born Werner Lanthaler is now the target.
More than 10 million euros annual salary
Once the top earner among listed German companies, with an annual salary of more than ten million euros, Lanthaler successfully led the biotech company Evotec with 2,200 employees. But in January this year, dark clouds passed over his previous exemplary career. The 56-year-old unexpectedly resigned from the top position. The stock price subsequently collapsed.
Explosive backgrounds
Little by little, the possible explosive background became known. Because the apparently not entirely voluntary departure of the father of two children would also involve multi-million dollar transactions on the stock exchange. In any case, the German regulator is investigating whether the ex-top manager has violated transparency obligations when trading in Evotec shares. Although this is generally permitted, boards or supervisory boards of listed companies are obliged to report such purchases or sellers in a timely manner.
This also concerns unauthorized inside information. According to the delayed notifications, Werner Lanthaler bought Evotec shares for 4.8 million euros in 36 stock transactions between 2021 and 2023 and sold them for around seven million euros a few days before his resignation. After all, a profit of almost 50 percent. The former CEO risks a fine of up to half a million euros for neglect of duty.
As has now become known, the Austrian Financial Market Authority is also investigating the local businessman! “We cannot provide information about ongoing investigations,” an FMA spokesperson said knowingly in response to a “Krone” request.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
