Billionaire Joe Lewis Denies Insider Trading Charges in Manhattan Court

The UK-based businessman, who was granted $300m bail, is accused of hatching a scheme that allowed his friends to profit from buying or selling related stocks by supplying them with confidential information.

Two co-accused, Mr. Lewis' pilots, were also granted bail of $250,000.

The charges against Mr. Lewis, who is 86 years old, were described as an "egregious error" by his lawyer David Zornow, who added that the case would be "vigorously defended in court." The tycoon, who usually resides in the Bahamas, voluntarily surrendered to federal authorities in the US last Wednesday.

The charges against Mr. Lewis have no bearing on the football club, according to a statement from Tottenham Hotspur.

The club confirmed that Mr. Lewis was "no longer a person with significant control at the club," following a filing made to Companies House last October.

The allegations against Mr. Lewis were detailed in a 29-page indictment, which outlines crimes that are said to have taken place between 2013 and 2021.

The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, claimed that Mr. Lewis abused his access to corporate board rooms and provided confidential information to his acquaintances, who used it to make millions of dollars in the stock market.

According to the indictment, Mr. Lewis told his pilots to invest in shares on the stock exchange based on inside information, and he also allegedly instructed a girlfriend to invest in a biotech company in 2019, before the results of its clinical trial were made public.

The girlfriend sold the shares for a profit of $849,000, according to prosecutors.

If convicted, Mr. Lewis could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

The case will be heard in a Manhattan court.