Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
Federal authorities in Boston have charged eight foreign nationals with securities fraud and money laundering as part of an alleged global insider trading network. The superseding indictment, unsealed on June 13, 2025, outlines charges against individuals from France, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Among those named are Samy Fadi Khouadja; Eamma Safi (also known as “TT,” “Yummy,” “Situatie Packered,” and “Roman Kna”); Zhi Ge (also known as “Josh Ge”); Christophe Dong; Julien Liu; Patrick Chou; Cheuk Yue Lee (also known as “Ryan” and “m100”); and Dev Ananth Durai (also known as “Devah”).
Safi is currently in U.S. custody following extradition from Switzerland earlier this year. Ge was provisionally arrested in Singapore in July 2024 and remains involved in extradition proceedings. The other defendants are considered fugitives.
According to court documents that include information from cooperating witnesses, leaders of the alleged network—Khouadja, Safi, and Ge—recruited corporate insiders to provide confidential information about financial performance and merger activities of publicly traded companies. These insiders were allegedly compensated for sharing material non-public information (MNPI). The network then used this information for securities trading across multiple regions including the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Authorities allege that members of the group leaked confidential details to journalists to influence market movements for profit. Many trades occurred through an automated exchange based in Massachusetts.
The indictment also claims that traders such as Dong, Liu, Chou, Lee, and Durai participated by executing trades based on MNPI in exchange for a share of illicit profits. Payments were structured to hide their origins using methods like cash transfers, third-party payments, shell companies, sham loans, and fake invoices. The scheme reportedly generated tens of millions of dollars in illegal gains from over a dozen corporate transactions.
To avoid detection by law enforcement and regulators, members allegedly relied on disposable phones, coded language during meetings or communications via encrypted messaging apps with auto-deleting features.
Examples provided in charging documents include Durai discussing payment arrangements with co-conspirators: “the deal I made with the guy who gives me the tip [Liu] is that I give him 50% of profit…so you can buy and help me subsidize my payment to him.” In another message Liu allegedly described MNPI from Khouadja as “only [a] 100% thing.” Other messages reference coordination among conspirators regarding trading strategies or compensation expectations tied to inside information.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley stated: “Protecting the integrity of our nation’s capital markets is a priority of my office. Today’s charges show that we will aggressively pursue those who engage in insider trading and cheat the system. No matter how secret you think encrypted messaging is and no matter how many steps you take to conceal your illegal activities, if you sell inside information or trade on non-public information be warned, my office will use every tool at our disposal to track you down and one day, you will find yourself in federal custody.”
Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge at the FBI’s Boston Field Office said: “These eight men are accused of engaging in a global con – trading on material, non-public information stolen from companies to score millions of dollars for themselves. We believe everything these men did, including their alleged attempts to conceal their crimes, show a willful disregard for the law. Protecting companies from theft and maintaining a level playing field for investors is critical to the financial markets. For that reason, the FBI takes our responsibility to investigate insider trading and other complex financial crimes seriously.”
If convicted on conspiracy or securities fraud charges each defendant faces up to 25 years’ imprisonment per count plus supervised release terms and substantial fines—up to $250,000 or twice any gross gain/loss for conspiracy charges; up to $5 million for securities fraud counts; up to $500,000 or twice property value involved for money laundering conspiracy charges; plus additional penalties specific to individual counts related directly to Safi and Ge.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ian J. Stearns with support from agencies including the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked alongside Swiss authorities during Safi’s extradition process.
Authorities remind that all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
