Yuji Naka, co-creator of Sonic and director of Baran Wonder World, was arrested a second time on suspicion of insider trading, just weeks after his initial arrest.

Naka was initially arrested in mid-November along with two Square Enix employees, Fumiaki Suzuki and Taisuke Sasaki (opens in new tab). The three were accused of purchasing shares in the development company Aiming Inc. before the joint development of the mobile game "Dragon Quest Tact" with Square Enix was announced. Naka allegedly purchased approximately 10,000 shares worth about 2.8 million yen (about US$20,000), but it is unclear whether he took advantage of the announcement to sell the shares.

Currently, Mr. Naka is accused of insider trading related to another Square Enix game. As reported by Asahi Shimbun (opens in new tab) and VGC (opens in new tab), the developer, along with Sasaki, was re-arrested for alleged confidential knowledge regarding the same mobile game, Final Fantasy 7: First Soldier. As with Dragon Quest Tact, Naka allegedly knew about Square Enix's plans to work with developer Ateam before they were announced. He is said to have purchased approximately 120,000 shares of this mobile studio for about 144.7 million yen (about US$1 million). Sasaki is said to have purchased 91,000 shares for 105 million yen. Asahi's report also states that a third, unnamed party was informed of the tie-up, and that this party purchased approximately 10,000 shares for 11.8 million yen.

When Naka, Suzuki, and Sasaki were first arrested, Square Enix issued an official statement on the matter. Square Enix said it would "cooperate fully with the investigation to clarify the facts," adding that it would "take disciplinary action against the former employees. The company has yet to comment on any subsequent arrests.