(Bloomberg) -- A Frankfurt court sentenced a man to three years and three months in prison for making millions of euros trading on inside information he got from a London-based banker at Perella Weinberg Partners LP.

Andreas T. had been accused of carrying out illicit trades on 20 occasions between 2017 and 2021 based on information from deals the Perella banker was working on. Judge Annette Zander said in Friday’s judgment that €24 million ($25.8 million) of illicit profits are being seized by authorities.

The investment bank’s London headquarters were searched as part of the investigation. The banker died by suicide two days after the raids, according to the indictment. 

Prosecutors said the banker leaked the information about planned deals and Andreas T. then bought shares and call options on the companies involved. Deals he traded on include Fortum Oyj’s takeover of Uniper SE, EON SE’s acquisition of RWE AG’s shares in Innogy AG, and Bain Capital and Carlyle Group’s bid for Osram AG, according to the indictment.

The banker got a share of the profits and Andreas T. reinvested the money for him, he testified. In one trade, he used €400,000 of his friend’s money, turning it into €900,000, he said.

Andreas T. had admited in court that decades ago he became close friends with the banker, who provided him with hints on investment opportunities. He had said that he didn’t know how his friend obtained the information and couldn’t tell whether the tips constituted illegal material, he said over the course of his two-hour testimony.

The public prosecutor had asked for a jail term of seven years and three months for the 48-year-old German, who can only be identified as Andreas T. under German media law. The defense lawyer had pleaded for a jail term of less than three years.  

Perella has said previously said it’s assisting authorities in the investigation, and that neither the lender nor any of its current employees are being probed in Germany.  

 

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