Working from home during the pandemic gave a former analyst at one of the City's biggest fund managers the cover to make nearly £1million through insider dealing, a court has heard. 

Redinel Korfuzi, 37, who used to work at Janus Henderson, is accused of using confidential information on companies including Daimler, Jet2 and THG to net the huge sum. 

He has been charged with conspiracy to commit insider dealing and money laundering between January 2019 and March 2021, alongside his sister Oerta Korfuzi, 36.

Tom Forster, a prosecutor representing Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, claimed homeworking allowed Korfuzi to operate the scheme 'hidden from the supervising eyes and ears of his colleagues'. 

'The defendants took advantage of the cloak afforded by national lockdown restrictions to take the opportunity to execute, while some of them worked from home, their secret plan to conduct criminal trading,' he added. 

Mr Forster told jurors that Korfuzi's flat in Marylebone where he lived with his sister and partner was the 'heart of the enterprise'. 

The siblings are standing trial along with Rogerio de Aquino, 63, and Dema Almeziad, 40, who prosecutors say acted as 'secret Buy Anonymous Proxies' for the insider trading.

All four have pleaded not guilty and their trial at Southwark Crown Court began on Thursday, when prosecutors said the defendants made a profit of around £963,000 in relation to 11 companies' shares.




Redinel Korfuzi, a former analyst at Janus Henderson Group, pictured with his sister Oerta Korfuzi on Wednesday 





Korfuzi has been charged with conspiracy to commit insider dealing and money laundering between January 2019 and March 2021





The trial at Southwark Crown Court began on Thursday, when prosecutors said the defendants made a profit of around £963,000 in relation to 11 companies' shares

Mr Forster said most of the facts were not contested by the defendants, but that 'what is hotly disputed is the conclusions that you can draw from those facts'.

Janus Henderson, which has more than £300 billion of assets under management, is not involved in the criminal case. 

It says it treats any actual or suspected misuse of confidential information with 'the greatest seriousness'.

The FCA previously said Janus Henderson had cooperated fully with its investigation.

The trial continues, and is due to conclude in May.

Convictions for insider trading carry a sentence of up to seven years, with up to 14 years for money laundering.