OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian police will release the chief executive of Swedish measurement technology firm Hexagon (ST:HEXAb) from custody no later than Saturday, Senior Public Prosecutor Marianne Bender said on Thursday.
CEO Ola Rollen was detained in Sweden on Oct. 26 on suspicion of insider trading and was transferred to Norway at the request of authorities. He denies wrongdoing and has not been charged.
Bender told Reuters: "The investigation will go on at full strength after the release ... it's too early to say how long the investigation will continue."
Rollen said in a statement he plans to resume his position as head of Hexagon.
"I feel confident that I am not guilty of any illegal insider trading. Going forward, I will fully cooperate with the Norwegian authorities in their investigations, and I hope for a swift conclusion. I am looking forward to resuming my duties as CEO of Hexagon AB," he said.
Hexagon's shares fell by 10 percent on the day the news was announced, and had fallen further since. By 1329 GMT on Thursday the share traded 2 percent higher for the day.
Rollen, one of Sweden's most successful chief executives, is accused of insider trading in connection with an investment in Norwegian company Next Biometrics ASA (OL:NEXT) in October last year, a transaction that did not involve Hexagon.
Rollen's Norwegian lawyer Erik Keiserud said he saw no grounds for suspicion against his client.
Earlier on Thursday, an appeals court rejected a request by Rollen for an immediate release, saying the police evidence gave cause for suspecting that a crime had been committed.
Hexagon Chairman Melker Schorling reiterated his support for Rollen in a separate statement.
The company also said Rollen would resume his duties as CEO as soon as possible and that Hexagon in the coming days would announce a date and time when Rollen would "address stakeholders".