RIYADH — The Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) Board decided to refer a group of investors to the Public Prosecution on suspicion of violating Article 49 of the Capital Market Law and Article 2 of the Market Conduct Regulations. These violations are represented by entering purchase orders and sale orders aimed to affect the price of the share and entering purchase orders and sale orders aimed to affect the closing share price, after trading the shares of 52 companies listed in the Saudi Capital Market. The referral to the Public Prosecution came further to the announcement made on August 11, 2022, which resulted in the outcome of the monitoring, tracking, analyzing, and studying the trades on the shares of listed companies, which saw fluctuations in their prices and traded volumes during various periods, concentrated during the years 2020 and 2021. These resulted in detecting suspicions related to the trades of a group of investors during this period through their investment portfolios, and it became clear through their trading that they aimed to influence the shares of listed companies. CMA confirmed to all dealers in the capital market that illegal practices involving fraud, deception, and manipulation are violations that expose the perpetrators to legal accountability and the penalties set forth in the Capital Market Law. In this regard, the CMA stressed that it will not hesitate, in pursuit of prosecuting manipulators in the capital market, to supervise their dealings, based on its powers under the Capital Market Law, and cooperate with the relevant security authorities, based on the CMA's responsibility to protect citizens and investors from unfair or unsound practices and to work to achieve justice and transparency in securities transactions. It is worthy to note that the General Secretariat of Committees for Resolution of Securities Disputes will announce to the public the identities of convicted violators on its website upon the issuance of final decisions by the Committees for Resolution of Securities Disputes regarding criminal cases. Moreover, any person affected by these violations is entitled to file a compensation claim, after conviction, against the violators before the Committees for Resolution of Securities Disputes.
