Teenagers charged with manipulating financial markets using social media
Two young men have been charged with distorting the markets on social media while they were teenagers at a Swedish high school.
The pair are alleged to have bought shares in companies listed on alternative exchange Aktietorget before posting positive messages on investor chatrooms to manipulate the prices.
They would then quickly sell when the share price rose, according to the prosecution.
They are said to have made 1m Swedish krona (£85,000) during six months in 2015 and 2016.
The two teenagers allegedly contacted prosecutor Jan Leopoldson for advice while they were pupils at a Gothenburg school.
They emailed him asking how to manipulate the stock market legally and whether bloggers are responsible for what they write, Leopoldson, who is now prosecuting the case, told CityAM
“Yet again we see a concrete example of social media being used to affect rates,” he said.
In 2016 two medical students were found guilty of writing analyses on internet forums to increase share prices in primarily pharmaceutical companies. The pair made 2.5m krona from the crimes. They were given suspended sentences and a fine.