Ola Rollén acquitted in Borgarting Court of Appeal

Oslo, 26th of June 2019

Borgarting Court of Appeal in Oslo, Norway, has today acquitted Ola Rollén of Økokrim's accusations of insider trading. Økokrim is Norway’s National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crimes. It is the second time that the Norwegian court reject Økokrim’s accusations against Rollén. The Court of Appeal confirms the acquittal of Ola Rollén in the Oslo District Court in January 2018. The Court of Appeal has established, as did the District Court, that Ola Rollén never received any price-sensitive information from Next or from any other party. The only information the court regarded as price-sensitive, was Rollén's own plans and decisions to invest in Next, and the Court further noted that it was not market abuse for Rollén to invest with knowledge of his own plans.

Attorneys Christian B. Hjort and Knut Bergo state that Rollén the entire time has been certain that he was not guilty of insider trading, and that he never received any inside information.  The acquittal in the two Norwegian courts confirm that Økokrim's charges against Rollén were groundless and never should have been brought forward. The case has put considerable personal strain on Rollén. He hopes that the Court of Appeal´s verdict now puts an end to Økokrim’s unjustified accusations against him.