Ajax suspends general manager Alex Kroes after two weeks due to possible insider trading

Ajax issued a press release on Tuesday announcing that 50-year-old Kroes has been suspended, with the note that the Supervisory Board plans to permanently end the collaboration. The decision was taken after the supervisory board learned that Kroes had purchased more than 17,000 Ajax shares a week before the publication of his proposed appointment on August 2. Ajax has been a listed company since 1998. The supervisory board then sought external legal advice, which showed that it was very likely that he had committed insider trading. That is a criminal offense.

Chairman Michael van Praag of the supervisory board: ‘We are very unpleasantly surprised that this is now happening to Ajax, because this is very bad for the club and for everyone who cares about the club. The actions of Alex Kroes are not compatible with what we stand for with Ajax. The moment at which he bought the shares means that he was trading with insider information. A listed company cannot tolerate such a violation of the law, especially if it concerns the CEO.’

Despite the appointment in August, Kroes had only started on March 15 due to a non-competition clause with his previous employer, AZ. Kroes’ tasks will be taken over by fellow directors for the time being. Former chairman Van Praag will temporarily assist the management as delegated supervisory director. Kroes had said in his first interview last week that he also wanted to take responsibility for all transfers this summer, in what promises to be a busy summer. Other employees will have to guide Ajax through the summer, from a technical point of view.

Alex Kroes, who has played football at Ajax since his youth, responds extensively to the commotion via LinkedIn: ‘It is with a heavy heart that I let you know that the Supervisory Board of Ajax has indicated that it will immediately suspend me as general manager. Last week, some media asked questions about the Ajax shares that I own. Among other things, I was asked whether I had received this as signing money from Ajax or whether I bought it myself. The latter is the case. I bought every Ajax share myself. After answering these questions, the supervisory board saw reason to consider my share package in more detail. A package of which they were already aware when my appointment was finalized in August 2023.

‘During that period I naturally provided full disclosure about relevant assets, including 42,500 shares in the capital of Ajax. In the period from April 6, 2022 to July 26, 2023, I purchased Ajax shares in bits and pieces, increasing to 42,500 shares (out of a total of 18.33 million existing Ajax shares). On December 31, 2022 I already had 20,000 pieces. I purchased another part in the months of April, May and June 2023. I purchased the last part (approximately 17,500 pieces) on July 26, 2023, shortly before my appointment on August 2, 2023. At that time I had not yet agreed with Ajax, but – because of my own intentions – I had a good feeling about it. I thought it was a positive signal to radiate confidence in the club and to shareholders. To be part of that – literally and figuratively. I believe that you radiate confidence to your fellow shareholders and stakeholders if you buy shares yourself and therefore also run financial risks yourself. ‘Skin in the game’, as they say.

‘After July 26, 2023 and, to avoid any misunderstandings, since I have access to any confidential information, I have not bought or sold any Ajax shares. While it’s not impossible that I could make money with these stocks in the longer term, that certainly hasn’t been the case to date. I have never made a secret of the fact that I have this share package. In fact, I pointed out to Ajax in August last year that I had this package and that I would like to hear how to deal with it because I had not yet mastered the specific rules. That question has not been answered to date. And although the supervisory board has had months to find out about the fact that I purchased these shares, I was not confronted about this and no questions were asked. Last Friday, the supervisory board suddenly informed me that they no longer had confidence in me. I have been informed that, in the eyes of the Supervisory Board, I had malicious intent in mind with the purchase of the shares on July 26, 2023 and the timing thereof. I would have had inside information and acted on it. This was not prompted by a signal from the competent supervisory authority, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), but is said to be based on the Supervisory Board’s own ‘moral compass’.

‘Although I am convinced of my good intentions, after consultation with my lawyer, I now understand that I did not make the wisest decision on July 26, 2023 due to the appearance of the situation. This does not alter the fact that a number of questions can still be asked about the qualification as “inside information” and therefore certainly the severity of the decision of summary dismissal by the Supervisory Board.’

Kroes wants to submit the case to the AFM for an independent assessment. He regrets that the supervisory board has already ruled that he apparently does not have the ‘correct moral compass’. ‘I have been an Ajax player since I was nine. I have always been involved in the club, as a player and as a member. In my heart and later also through these shares. Shares that I bought out of involvement in the club. Out of confidence in the club. My moral compass says that I cannot simply accept this decision of the Supervisory Board. I will now independently go to the AFM to present my matter in order to arrive at an independent judgment. All this causes unrest for Ajax and I sincerely regret that. Hopefully this period will be over soon. From today onwards, with a heavy heart, I will watch from a distance what is happening at Ajax. Ajax must become Ajax again.’