The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday accused a former SAP SE executive and three others of insider trading based on a tip he supplied about an impending merger.
The SEC alleged that Christopher Salis, then a global vice president at the software company’s SAP (SAP) America unit, received thousands of dollars in kickbacks for tipping off a friend ahead of its acquisition of Concur Technologies in 2014.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Hammond, Ind., the SEC said Salis’ friend, Douglas Miller, then told his brother, Edward Miller, and a mutual friend, Barrett Biehel. They then made trades before the merger’s announcement.
The SEC also said Salis, 39, in 2007 gave Douglas Miller, who co-owns a cash wash in Indiana with his brother, non-public information in advance of a tender offer by SAP for Business Objects, Salis’ then-employer.
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The tips resulted in more than $545,000 in trading profits for Douglas Miller, his family, Biehel, and another friend, the SEC said.
Kickbacks to Salis included at least $10,400 in cash, the agency said. A startup company he owned later received approximately $80,000 from Miller and his family, the SEC said.
SAP, in a statement, said Salis left the company in October 2015. SAP said it has cooperated fully in the investigation and was not a target.
Lawyers for Salis and Biehel did not respond to requests for comment. Thomas Kirsch, a lawyer for the Millers, said his clients had not committed any insider trading and looked forward to their day in court.
