Ajax accuses CEO Alex Kroes of insider trading, Moves to fire football club leader

Ajax has moved to fire CEO and executive board chair Alex Kroes on allegations of insider trading, the club announced on Tuesday. The team alleged Kroes purchased 17,000 shares of common stock a week before it was publicly released that he was set to become the Amsterdam football club’s new top executive.

“The Supervisory Board sought external legal advice, which indicates that he likely engaged in insider trading. Insider trading is a criminal offense,” the club announced.

Kroes has been suspended with immediate effect. His duties were transferred to other board members while a replacement was sought.

Michael van Praag, chairman of Ajax’s supervisory board, said the club was “deeply dismayed” by what happened. “The timing of his share purchase indicates insider trading. Such a violation of the law cannot be tolerated by a publicly listed company, especially when it involves the CEO,” he said. “After careful consideration, the Supervisory Board has therefore concluded that Alex's position as a director of Ajax is untenable.”

Van Praag called Kroes’s actions “highly detrimental to the club and everyone who holds it dear to them. Alex Kroes’s actions are not in line with what Ajax stands for.”

The decision highlights the ongoing chaos and turmoil at Ajax even after a series of moves was meant to put Ajax on a better path. Following the sexual harassment scandal that led to the firing of Marc Overmars, the top men’s team wound up with their worst end to a season in 14 years. The club simultaneously declined to celebrate the championship season their women’s team concluded.

Overmars was pushed to resign as director of football affairs at Ajax in February 2022 after several reports of inappropriate behavior towards female staff at the club. Overmars said Ajax quickly made overtures to get him to return to the team despite publicly admonishing him for his antics, which included sending unsolicited pictures of his genitalia to co-workers and pestering female employees in other ways.

In November last year, the Dutch sports tribunal ISR first imposed a two-year suspension on Overmars, of which one year will be suspended pending his adherence to several conditions. The ISR said it believed Overmars was guilty of sexual harassment and other transgressions when he worked with the Amsterdam club. At the beginning of 2024, FIFA extended the suspension globally. Overmars appealed the global suspension but lost.

In September last year, Ajax also dismissed director of football Sven Mislintat. The dismissal came after what many have called one of the worst days in Ajax's history. The Amsterdammers were 3-0 down to arch-rivals Feyenoord before the match was abandoned due to the supporters in the Johan Cruijff Arena throwing fireworks on the pitch and rioting.

Ajax said that Mislintat’s dismissal was due to poor performance. The German director is also under investigation for dodgy transfer practices. Mislintat spent over 100 million in the summer, needing to replace important players who left, like Mohamed Kudus, Dusan Tadic, and Jurrien Timber. But the signings had not delivered by the time of his dismissal in September.