Ajax plans to dismiss chief executive for suspected insider trading

Ajax said it planned to dismiss chief executive Alex Kroes for suspected insider trading, deepening the turmoil at an institution that was once a powerhouse in European football.

The club said on Tuesday that Kroes acquired more than 17,000 shares in Ajax, which is listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange, a week before his appointment as chief executive was announced on August 2 last year.

“The timing of his share purchase indicates insider trading,” Ajax chair Michael van Praag said in a statement. “Such a violation of the law cannot be tolerated by a publicly listed company, especially when it involves the CEO.”

Kroes has been suspended, Ajax said, and the club intended to “terminate the collaboration permanently.”

Kroes, who co-founded agency Sports Entertainment Group, only started as Ajax chief executive in the middle of last month. In a LinkedIn post on Tuesday, Kroes confirmed he acquired 17,500 shares on July 26 last year, adding to an existing holding.

Explaining the purchases, Kroes said: “I believe in exuding trust to your fellow shareholders and stakeholders when you buy shares yourself and thereby also take a financial risk yourself. ‘Skin in the game’, as it is called.”

Stressing his “good intentions”, Kroes said: “I now understand after consultation with my lawyer, that on 26 July 2023 I did not take the wisest decision due to the appearance of the situation.”

But he added that “my moral compass says I cannot simply resign myself to this decision” by Ajax, and called on the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets to conduct an investigation into his purchases.

Since he has had access to confidential information about Ajax, Kroes said he had neither bought nor sold shares in the club.

The suspension of Kroes caps a bruising period for Ajax, which, inspired by Johan Cruyff, were transformed into the world’s best team and were European champions from 1971 to 1973. A youthful team, including striker Patrick Kluivert and midfielder Clarence Seedorf, also triumphed in the Champions League in 1995.

After more recent domestic success — the club won the Dutch league for four consecutive seasons between 2018-19 and 2021-22 — Ajax has struggled as European rivals picked off star players including Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt. Ajax have lost seven times in the league this season and are languishing in fifth position.

Player sales have helped the club’s finances. From 2014-15 to 2023-24, only Portuguese club SL Benfica had a stronger net transfer surplus — the difference between proceeds from selling players and acquiring others — than Ajax, according to data website Transfermarkt.