A former Janus Henderson research analyst has been found guilty of orchestrating an insider trading scheme that netted nearly £1 million whilst working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Redinel Korfuzi, 38, and his sister Oerta Korfuzi, 36, were convicted on Thursday at Southwark Crown Court of conspiracy to commit insider dealing and money laundering. The siblings will be sentenced on 4 July.

Two co-defendants, personal trainer Rogerio de Aquino, 63, and his partner Dema Almeziad, 40, were cleared of all charges by the jury following a four-month trial.

The Financial Conduct Authority alleged that Redinel Korfuzi used confidential information obtained through his role at the asset management firm to make highly leveraged trades through accounts held by his sister and the other defendants between January 2019 and March 2021.

Prosecutor Tom Forster told the court that the defendants made profits of around £963,000 in relation to 11 companies' shares, including Daimler, Jet2 and THG, in just over six months. The trades were often executed within 24 hours of Korfuzi obtaining inside information, with the conspiracy directed from a London flat in Marylebone that he shared with his sister.

"The defendants were motivated by greed, plain and simple," Forster said during his closing speech. "This was plainly a secret trading club that was rigged by the use of inside information."

The court heard that Korfuzi exploited remote working arrangements during the pandemic to carry out the criminal trades. The prosecution described the London flat as "the heart of the enterprise", with prosecutors alleging that de Aquino and Almeziad acted as "secret proxies" for the insider trading.

Judge Milne told the convicted siblings: "These are serious matters of which you've been convicted and the sentences will reflect that." Convictions for insider trading carry sentences of up to seven years, with money laundering carrying penalties of up to 14 years.

During testimony, Redinel Korfuzi denied the charges, claiming that cash found in bank accounts and safety deposit boxes was "absolutely not" linked to insider dealing but was money collected from UK clients of his father's Albanian construction company.

Following the acquittals, Roger Sahota, representing Almeziad, said: "This case should never have been brought. There was no evidence that Ms Almeziad knew anything about insider dealing, and it is wrong to expect ordinary people to understand or spot complex financial conduct that even professionals struggle with."

Janus Henderson, which manages approximately $380 billion in assets, was not accused of any wrongdoing in the case. A spokesperson for the firm said: "The protection of confidential information is extremely important to Janus Henderson and the firm treats any actual or suspected misuse of confidential information with the utmost seriousness."

The case, known as Operation Naples, represents one of the most high-profile UK insider dealing prosecutions in recent years, highlighting the risks of remote working arrangements in the financial services sector.

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