Former Barcelona legend Gerard Piqué fined €20,000 for insider trading..

Former Barcelona and Spanish international legend Gerard Piqué has been fined €20,000 for insider trading, according to a report by The Athletic on Wednesday, citing the Spanish Ministry of Justice.

The report, first published in the Boletin Oficial del Estad (BOE), a publication that exposes government documents, shows that Piqué and a local businessman, José Elias, were fined for "serious violations" of stock market laws.

Piqué was fined for purchasing shares of Aspy Global Services "with insider information provided by Elias." These shares were purchased on January 22, 2021, and sold six days later, resulting in a substantial profit for Piqué.

Elias was fined €100,000 for disclosing to Piqué "insider trading" information related to Atrys Health's acquisition of Aspy Global Services, information that enabled Piqué to profit in the stock market.

It was reported that Elias is a close friend of Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who also instructed Elias to provide Piqué with the aforementioned two "insider trading" information. However, prosecutors have not found any evidence of the former's crime.

Both Piqué and Elias have the right to appeal to the Spanish National High Court. Subsequently, reporters attempted to contact Piqué's legal representatives and Audax, the energy group founded and chaired by Elias, for their opinions, but neither responded before press time.

It is worth mentioning that this is the second scandal involving the former Barcelona legend recently.

Last week, Piqué was banned for six matches and banned from all official football activities for two months by the Spanish Football Federation for allegedly committing minor acts of violence against a referee.

Previously, FC Andorra, the club owned by Piqué lost 0-1 to Albacete in the Segunda División.

At the time, Piqué was banned for two months for "openly and publicly damaging the dignity and etiquette of sport."

Image source: Internet / The Athletic