June 3 (Reuters) - KCG Holdings Inc suspects its trading code was likely stolen, lawyers for the New Jersey-based trading firm told Manhattan prosecutors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The Manhattan district attorney's office is investigating whether a former technology executive stole the computer code and used it to benefit a rival, the paper reported, quoting people who were briefed on the probe. (http://link.reuters.com/byz79v)
Raymond Ross, a former technology executive at Knight Capital and present chief technology officer of New York-based Clearpool Group, is the focus of the investigation, according to one of the people briefed on the probe, the WSJ said.
"We haven't taken any intellectual property. I personally have not and don't have knowledge of anyone else who has," Ross told the WSJ, adding that Clearpool would launch a countersuit "against those responsible" and "vigorously fight the false claims."
KCG was formed in July 2013 when Knight Capital Group Inc merged with Getco Holding Co.
The prosecutors are examining communications, computer records and other information from KCG and elsewhere, the WSJ said.
Both KCG Holdings and Clearpool were not immediately available for a comment.
(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)