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The city council was surprised: it did not know the rules
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Hans-Göran Persson, 47, wanted to learn more about the stock market and bought two smaller stakes in a company.
It became the worst deal of his life.
Two years later, he received an email from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority accusing him of market manipulation.
– It was a shock, I had no idea what I did wrong, he says.
When Finansinspektionen’s letter arrived in his inbox in December 2020, Councilor Hans-Göran Persson (M) from Ludvika thought it was a fake email.
In it, he was accused of market manipulation in connection with a stock transaction he had made in January 2019.
– But there was a phone number, so I called, he says.
The email turned out to be genuine, they told him. According to Finansinspektionen, one of its share purchases had “given misleading signals about supply, demand and the share price.” A fine of SEK 70,000 was imposed.
“I was unconscious”
Hans-Göran was surprised.
– I had three weeks to approve it, otherwise they would take it to district court.
Photo: PRIVATE
NO SHARK STOCK. “I could write a book about my bad deal in the stock market. And now I’m becoming the face of bad stock trading. That is not why he wanted to be known, “says Hans-Göran Persson (M), Ludvika city councilor.
He approved the fine.
– I understood that I had done wrong, even if I was unconscious.
Have you transacted similar stocks before?
– No clue. He knew that manipulating the stock market was a crime, but he didn’t even think he had done something wrong or that the deal was prohibited. So I can’t swear that I didn’t do something like that before or after.
Rules violated
The share transaction that Finansinspektionen undertook consisted of two share purchases and an attempted sale.
– I sat down and looked at the stocks, bought and sold for fun. So I had shares for around 10,000 kroner in my deposit. He was interested in the stock market, but did not expect big cuts, says Hans-Göran Persson.
In his deposit, he then had, among other things, a record of a few hundred shares in a mining company.
That day in January 2019, he decided to buy a few more shares of the same mining company.
Bought for SEK 300
He then bought shares in two installments, for a total of just over SEK 300.
First, he bought 50 shares at a price of SEK 3.80.
Then he bought 20 more, that purchase was negotiated in two partial agreements, first he obtained 17 shares for SEK 3.80 / piece and the remaining 3 shares he obtained for SEK 4.39 / share.
So Hans-Göran Persson wanted to sell all the shares he had in that company, a total of 438 shares. He placed a sales order at a price of 4.22 SEK / piece.
But no one took advantage of its price, so the sale never ended.
All shares remained in his custody. A few months later, in the fall of 2019, he received a letter from Finansinspektionen, who wanted him to comment on that particular deal.
Then he forgot about the deal, until in December 2020 he received the email accusing him of market manipulation.
– I said how I was and I thought I was no longer with him.
It’s a “monkey”
Hans-Göran was charged with alleged “loner”, which is a type of criminal behavior.
Peter Hallström, Senior Inspector for the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, explains the term “loner”:
– Through a purchase or sale with a small volume, “last paid” is changed in order to deceive other people in the market.
What has Hans-Göran done?
– He raised the price, for a minute later trying to sell his entire stake, says Peter Hallström.
Peter Hallström points out that you can buy individual shares or a smaller number. The problem can arise if you later place a sales order:
– We look at the whole.
“I want to warn the others”
Hans-Göran Persson says he felt like a serious criminal when he received the message from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.
– I had just become a city councilor. It was a deal of 1,800 SEK and a profit that would have been 150-200 before tax. With the allowance I have, you don’t risk your entire future for such a deal.
He accepted that he made a mistake, but believes it was unintentional.
– I do not go out to feel sorry, but to warn others. I have not stopped with actions, but now I think about.
The sanction order that Hans-Göran Persson received, with a detailed description of his agreement that led to an accusation of market manipulation.
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