A former analyst for a global asset management firm pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon in an alleged ”front-running” scheme that prosecutors said had netted him more than $8.5 million in illegal profits.

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office charged the broker, Sergei Polevikov, with securities and wire fraud in the case, which claimed that he used his wife’s personal brokerage account to buy or sell stock ahead of large trades that his employer made on behalf of its clients.