Prosecution to appeal TJ Group verdict

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The Helsinki Court of Appeal will examine the stock market deals of the IT services company TJ Group in the spring of 2000. State Prosecutor Mika Illman is appealing last week’s decision by Helsinki District Court in which the company and its directors were acquitted of nearly all of the charges put against them.
      In the decision, the company’s main owners, Tuomo Tilman and Jyrki Salminen, were fined for a delayed result warning in April 2000. The prosecution had called for prison sentences for deceiving shareholders about the value of the company.
      The prosecution had demanded that Tilman, Salminen, the TJ Group, and others who sold their shares at high prices, be ordered to pay about EUR 151 million in profits from the sales. In the appeal, the prosecution wants Tilman and Salminen to forfeit EUR 48 million, each, and for TJ Group to return EUR 39 million in alleged ill-gotten gains.
      The prosecution is also asserting its demand for a corporate fine of EUR 200,000 against TJ Group.
     
State Prosecutor Illman notes that in its decision, Helsinki District Court recognised that the result of TJ Group had been reported in a manner that erroneously indicated a profit. In the court’s view, the inaccuracy did not affect the market price of the company, because the market was in the midst of an Internet frenzy at the time.
      The rejection of the charges of dissemination of false information meant that the court was not able to convict anyone of misusing insider information.
      Illman does not see the Internet frenzy as a valid defence. In his view, in a heated market, a listed company should be even more careful than usual in the information it gives out to investors.
     
The management of TJ Group also plans to lodge an appeal. The Chairman of the Board, Tuomo Tilman, says that no decision has been made on the scope of the appeal.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  TJ Group managers cleared of nearly all charges (27.1.2006)

Helsingin Sanomat