It is linked to stock sales made by the people concerned – whose names have been kept confidential – before Cloetta announced a profit warning on September 14, 2017.
The authority said in a press release it had searched and seized material from the executives.
Cloetta: Internal investigation
Jonas Myrdal, prosecutor at the Financial Market Chamber of the authority, said: "Unfortunately, at this stage, we can not provide any more details about the case because the preliminary investigation is subject to confidentiality for the sake of both individuals involved and the crime investigation themselves [Swedish translation].”
Cloetta said in a press release: “Cloetta will fully cooperate with the Economic Crime Authority in the investigation. Cloetta has previously, at its own initiative, through the law firm Cederquist, conducted an investigation of the share sales.”
Profit warning
Cloetta is the market leader in Sweden’s sugar confectionery and pastilles market ahead of Mondelēz International, according to its 2016 Annual Report.
The company warned last month its third quarter profits would be hit by a fire at a production lines at its Turnhout, Belgium, factory in June.
It said at the time its Q3 adjusted operating profit would be SEK 40-50m ($5m-$6.3m) lower than the same quarter last year.
Cloetta will publish its Q3 results on October 25 2017.