Argentina Said to Probe Trades of Andes for Insider Trading

(Bloomberg) -- The Argentine government is investigating 2017 trades of Andes Energia Plc shares to assess if there was insider trading or market manipulation.

The government is reviewing trades by a group of brokers, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. Andes Energia shares were traded in blocks in the first half of 2017 prior to a merger with Swiss trader Mercuria Energy Group Ltd, which was announced July 24. Talks of the merger were first reported by Bloomberg June 29 and confirmed by the company June 30.

Andes was renamed Phoenix Global Resources Plc after the merger. A representative from Phoenix Global Resources did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment. A representative from the securities regulator said they can’t comment on any ongoing investigations.

To contact the reporters on this story: Carolina Millan in Buenos Aires at cmillanronch@bloomberg.net, Ignacio Olivera Doll in Buenos Aires at ioliveradoll@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Courtney Dentch at cdentch1@bloomberg.net, Andres R. Martinez

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