SEC Charges Two With Insider Trading On Proposed Cooper Tires Deal

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged two people over alleged insider trading for the proposed Cooper Tires and Rubber takeover by Apollo Tyres . The SEC alleges that Amit Kanodia tipped off Iftikar Ahmed and another friend after his wife, then the general counsel at Apollo. Ahmed allegedly repeated more than $1.1 million through stock and option purchases of Cooper. Ahmed later paid Kanodia a kickback by transferring $220,000 to supposed charity that Kanodia controlled, the SEC added. An unnamed friend of Kanodia also paid a portion of his illicit gains to Kanodia, the SEC added.