The crisis-plagued Dutch football record champion Ajax Amsterdam has suspended its managing director and chairman Alex Kroes. The supervisory board accuses the 50-year-old of insider trading in Ajax shares, according to a statement. Kroes rejected the allegations. He is said to have bought more than 17,000 shares in the club a week before his appointment was announced on August 2, 2023.
An external audit commissioned by the supervisory board showed that it was most likely insider trading, which is a criminal offense. The association was negatively surprised by the allegations, the chairman of the supervisory board, Michael van Praag, was quoted as saying in the statement. The approach was not compatible with the club’s values: “The time when he bought the shares means that he was trading with insider information.”
Kroes denied the allegations in a LinkedIn post. The Ajax management knew about the share package in question. After July 26, 2023 and to avoid any misunderstandings, he “did not buy or sell Ajax shares” due to his access to confidential information. In his opinion, the responsible supervisory authority AFM should now deal with the case. “The AFM can then independently assess whether I have broken the law and whether it is serious. I bear the consequences,” wrote Kroes.
Ajax parted ways with coach Maurice Steijn last October after a disastrous start to the season. Interim coach John van’t Schip announced a few days ago that he would be quitting after the season. Amsterdam is currently fifth in the Eredivisie. The German football director Sven Mislintat had to leave in September.