SEC v. Weiguo Zhai (insider trading, 2026)

Settled

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 3, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

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In July 2026 the Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled charges against Weiguo Zhai, an AstraZeneca employee on the due diligence team for the Icosavax acquisition, for trading before the December 12, 2023 tender offer announcement on confidential information. He consented, subject to court approval, to an injunction, $10,006 in disgorgement, $1,535 in interest and a $10,006 penalty.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

—

Disgorgement

$10k

Prejudgment interest

$1.5k

Total relief

$11.5k

Alleged gain

$10k

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced this matter on July 9, 2026 as release LR-26581, filing in the District of Maryland on July 8, 2026.

The complaint alleges he misappropriated AstraZeneca's confidential information about the deal. Sections 10(b) and 14(e) and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 are charged.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Insider trading — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2026-07-09 Litigation release published

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• SEC litigation release

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.