Top core elements of the insider trading and market manipulation offences in Nigeria and South Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Okubor Cecil Nwachukwu
Author(s):  
Howard Chitimira

In an early attempt to combat market abuse in the South African financial markets, legislation such as the Companies Act, the Financial Markets Control Act and the Stock Exchanges Control Act were enacted. However, these Acts failed to effectively curb market abuse activities that were allegedly rife in the financial markets. Consequently, the Insider Trading Act was enacted and came into effect on 17 January 1999. While the introduction of the Insider Trading Act brought some confidence in the financial markets, market abuse activities were still not extinguished. The provisions of the Insider Trading Act were to some extent inadequate and ineffectively implemented. Eventually, the Securities Services Act was enacted to repeal all the flawed provisions of the Insider Trading Act. Notwithstanding these efforts on the part of the legislature, more may still need to be done to increase the number of convictions and settlements in cases involving market abuse in South Africa. It is against this background that a historical overview analysis of the regulation of market abuse is carried out in this article to expose the flaws that were previously embedded in the South African market abuse laws prior to 2004. This is done to raise awareness of the situation on the part of the relevant stakeholders, as they consider whether such flaws were adequately resolved or subsequently re-introduced under the Securities Services Act and the Financial Markets Act. To this end, the article firstly discusses the historical development and regulation of market manipulation prior to 2004. Secondly, the regulation and enforcement of insider trading legislation prior to 2004 are examined. Moreover, where possible, certain flaws of the previous market abuse laws that were re-incorporated into the current South African market abuse legislation are isolated and recommendations are made in that regard.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-77
Author(s):  
Howard Chitimira

In Australia, the market abuse prohibition is generally well accepted by the investing and non-investing public as well as by the government. This co-operative and co-ordinated approach on the part of all the relevant stakeholders has to date given rise to an increased awareness and commendable combating of market abuse activities in the Australian corporations, companies and securities markets. It is against this background that this article seeks to explore the general enforcement approaches that are employed to combat market abuse (insider trading and market manipulation) activity in Australia. In relation to this, the role of selected enforcement authorities and possible enforcement methods which may be learnt from the Australian experience will be isolated where necessary for consideration in the South African market abuse regulatory framework.


Obiter ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Chitimira

This paper analyses the regulation of market abuse under the Financial Markets Act 19 of 2012 in order to investigate the adequacy of such regulation as regards to the combating of market-abuse practices in South Africa. To this end, the paper provides an overview analysis of the market abuse (insider trading and market manipulation) offences as well as the penalties and other anti-market abuse-enforcement approaches that are employed under the Financial Markets Act 19 of 2012 in a bid to provide a revamped and adequate anti-market abuse regulatory and -enforcement framework in South Africa. Moreover, where possible, the paper also provides a comparative analysis of these offences, penalties and other anti-market abuse-enforcement approaches and those that were provided under the Securities Services Act 36 of 2004. This is done to examine whether the anti-market abuse regulatory and -enforcement framework that was re-introduced under the Financial Markets Act 19 of 2012 has now adequately resolved the flaws and gaps that were associated with a similar framework under the former Act.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 183-208
Author(s):  
Howard Chitimira

The increasingly global market has given rise to increased interaction and interdependence among national regulators as well as investors in different jurisdictions. However, this has brought several regulatory problems to the enforcement authorities particularly with regard to the detection, investigation and prosecution of cross-border market abuse activities in many jurisdictions, such as the European Union and South Africa. Consequently, the European Union became the first body to establish multinational market abuse laws in order to enhance the detection and combating of cross-border market abuse practices. The European Union Insider Dealing Directive was subsequently adopted in 1989 and was the first law that harmonised the insider trading ban among the European Union member states. Thereafter, the European Union Directive on Insider Dealing and Market Manipulation was adopted in a bid to increase the combating of all the forms of market abuse in the European Union’s securities and financial markets. Similar anti-market abuse regulatory efforts were also made in South Africa. In light of this, selected regulatory aspects of market abuse in the European Union and South Africa will be briefly and comparatively discussed in tandem. Thereafter, some concluding remarks will be provided.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 796-814
Author(s):  
E.K. Ovakimyan

Subject. The article examines the laws regulating insider trading. Objectives. The study outlines recommendations for refining Law On Countering the Illegal Use of Insider Information and Market Manipulation and Amendments to Some Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation, № 224-ФЗ of July 27, 2010. Methods. The methodological framework includes a general dialectical method, analysis and synthesis, induction and deductions, and some specific methods, such as comparative and formal logic analysis to specify the definition of insider information, structural logic and functional analysis to improve the mechanism for countering insider trading and market manipulation. Results. We discovered key drawbacks to be addressed so as to improve the business environment in Russia. Although the Russia laws mainly mirror the U.S. laws, they present a more extended list of terms concerning the insider information. I believe the legislative perfection should be continued. Conclusions and Relevance. The study helps apply the findings to outline a new legislative regulation or amend the existing ones, add a new mention on the course of financial markets to students’ books, develop new methods for detecting and countering and improving the existing ones. If all parties to insider relationships use the findings, they will prevent insider trading crimes in financial markets and (or) reduce the negative impact of such crimes on the parties.


10.28945/4631 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 143-156
Author(s):  
Christian G Koch

In March 2011, Warren Buffett stepped into chaos. The Chairman of one of Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries, David Sokol, had resigned his position, but there was more to the story. As soon as Buffett is informed of the insider trading claim, the situation turns into a decision-making problem with four core elements: 1) Managerially difficult; 2) Emotionally charged; 3) Intense media coverage; 4) Ethical and moral paradox. This case study explores the issues and Buffett’s response to the insider trading example.


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