Archive · 19 Nov 2025
Former Banker Charged in Global Insider-Trading Ring
A former investment banker, Samy Fadi Khouadja, was charged for leading a global insider-trading ring.
The group made millions by getting secret information about companies and trading stocks before the news was public.
They tried to hide their activities using special phones and secret codes.
Khouadja is still on the run, while some of his partners are in jail or fighting to avoid being sent to the US.
Samy Fadi Khouadja, a former Merrill Lynch banker, charged with leading an insider-trading ring.
Ring operated from 2016 to 2024, involving over a dozen deals and tens of millions in profits.
Khouadja and others used burner phones, coded language, and encrypted messaging to conceal activity.
Payments for tips were made using cash transfers, shell companies, and fake invoices.
Khouadja is a fugitive, while co-leaders Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge are in custody or fighting extradition.
- Who
- Samy Fadi Khouadja (former Merrill Lynch banker), Eamma Safi, Zhi Ge, and five others
- What
- Led a global insider-trading ring
- When
- 2016 to 2024
- Where
- Paris, France; Boston, US; Singapore; Hong Kong; France
- Why
- To profit from trading stocks based on confidential information
Prosecution
Defense
Use of burner phones and coded language
Prosecution
Evidence of guilt and attempt to hide activities
Defense
Could be explained as personal privacy or security measures
Khouadja's fugitive status
Prosecution
Suggests guilt and evasion of justice
Defense
Could be due to personal reasons or misunderstanding of charges
- Total deals involved
- Over a dozen
- Total profits
- Tens of millions of dollars
- Khouadja's current status
- Fugitive
- Safi's status
- In US custody, pleaded not guilty
- Ge's status
- Arrested in Singapore, fighting extradition