Santander CEO to Testify in Assistant’s Insider Trading Case

Banco Santander SA Chief Executive (SAN) Officer Alfredo Saenz will testify in an investigation into alleged insider trading and money laundering against a former personal aide.

Saenz will appear at the national court in Madrid on July 13 to give evidence in a probe by judge Eloy Velasco into allegations against Cedric Canas, said an official for the court in a phone interview. Canas is accused of buying shares in Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. before a takeover bid by BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the official said.

A Santander official declined to comment in a phone interview. Santander was one of five banks advising BHP on its failed Potash Corp. bid in 2010.

Efforts to contact Canas through the bank to seek a comment weren’t successful.

To contact the reporter on this story: Charles Penty in Madrid at cpenty@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net