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Financial Markets Act, 2012 (Act No. 19 of 2012)

Chapter X : Market Abuse

Offences

78. Insider trading

 

(1)
(a) An insider who knows that he or she has inside information and who deals directly or indirectly or through an agent for his or her own account in the securities listed on a regulated market  or in derivative instruments related to such securities, to which the inside information relates or which are likely to be affected by it, commits an offence.

[Section 78(1)(a) substituted by section 290, item 57(a) of Schedule 4, of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017), Notice No. 853, GG 41060, dated 22 August 2017 - effective 9 February 2018 (Notice R. 99, GG 41433, dated 9 February 2018)]

(b) An insider is, despite paragraph (a), not guilty of any offence contemplated in that paragraph if such insider proves on a balance of probabilities that he or she—
(i) only became an insider after he or she had given the instruction to deal to an authorised user and the instruction was not changed in any manner after he or she became an insider; or
(ii) was acting in pursuit of a transaction in respect of which—
(aa) all the parties to the transaction had possession of the same inside information;
(bb) trading was limited to the parties referred to in subparagraph (aa); and
(cc) the transaction was not aimed at securing a benefit from exposure to movement in the price of the security, or a related security, resulting from the inside information.

 

(2)
(a) An insider who knows that he or she has inside information and who deals, directly or indirectly or through an agent for any other person in the securities listed on a regulated market or in derivative instruments related to such securities, to which the inside information relates or which are likely to be affected by it, commits an offence.

[Section 78(2)(a) substituted by section 290, item 57(b) of Schedule 4, of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017), Notice No. 853, GG 41060, dated 22 August 2017 - effective 9 February 2018 (Notice R. 99, GG 41433, dated 9 February 2018)]

(b) An insider is, despite paragraph (a), not guilty of any offence contemplated in that paragraph if such insider proves on a balance of probabilities that he or she—
(i) is an authorised user and was acting on specific instructions from a client, and did not know that the client was an insider at the time;
(ii) only became an insider after he or she had given the instruction to deal to an authorised user and the instruction was not changed in any manner after he or she became an insider; or
(iii) was acting in pursuit of a transaction in respect of which—
(aa) all the parties to the transaction had possession of the same inside information;
(bb) trading was limited to the parties referred to in subparagraph (aa); and
(cc) the transaction was not aimed at securing a benefit from exposure to movement in the price of the security, or a related security, resulting from the inside information.

 

(3)
(a) Any person who deals for an insider directly or indirectly or through an agent in the securities listed on a regulated market or in derivative instruments related to such securities, to which the inside information possessed by the insider relates or which are likely to be affected by it, who knew that such person is an insider, commits an offence.

[Section 78(3)(a) substituted by section 290, item 57(c) of Schedule 4, of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017), Notice No. 853, GG 41060, dated 22 August 2017 - effective 9 February 2018 (Notice R. 99, GG 41433, dated 9 February 2018)]

(b) A person is, despite paragraph (a), not guilty of any offence contemplated in that paragraph if the person on whose behalf the dealing was done had any of the defences available to him or her as set out in subsection (2)(b)(ii) and (iii).

 

(4)
(a) An insider who knows that he or she has inside information and who discloses the inside information to another person, commits an offence.
(b) An insider is, despite paragraph (a), not guilty of the offence contemplated in that paragraph if such insider proves on a balance of probabilities that he or she disclosed the inside information because it was necessary to do so for the purpose of the proper performance of the functions of his or her employment, office or profession in circumstances unrelated to dealing in any security listed on a regulated market or trading with a derivative instrument related to such a security and that he or she at the same time disclosed that the information was inside information.

[Section 78(4)(b) substituted by section 290, item 57(d) of Schedule 4, of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017), Notice No. 853, GG 41060, dated 22 August 2017 - effective 9 February 2018 (Notice R. 99, GG 41433, dated 9 February 2018)]

 

(5) An insider who knows that he or she has inside information and who encourages or causes another person to deal or discourages or stops another person from dealing in the securities listed on a regulated market or in derivative instruments related to such securities, to which the inside information relates or which are likely to be affected by it, commits an offence.

Section 78(5) substituted by section 290, item 57(e) of Schedule 4, of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017), Notice No. 853, GG 41060, dated 22 August 2017 - effective 9 February 2018 (Notice R. 99, GG 41433, dated 9 February 2018)]