Insider Trading Post-2016
Market Abuse Law
The Companies Act 2014 re-enacts the statutory provisions which underpin market abuse law. Market abuse law derives from the Market Abuse Directive and the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
The statutory power of the Minister to make regulations to give effect to the directive, supplemental directives and to make consequent provisions arising from the Market Abuse Regulation, are confirmed. Existing Market Abuse Regulations, i.e. by statutory instrument implementing the above, are kept in force.
A person who is guilty of an offence created by Irish market abuse law to which the provision is expressed to apply shall, without prejudice to any penalties provided by the law in respect of summary conviction, be liable on conviction and indictment, to a fine of up to €10 million and imprisonment of up to 10 years or both.
Civil Liability
If a person contravenes a provision of Irish market abuse law, he shall be liable to compensate any other person to the transaction concerned who was not in possession of the relevant information for any loss sustained by that party by reason of any difference between the price at which the financial instruments concerned were acquired or disposed of, and the price at which they were likely to be acquired or disposed in such transaction, at the time that the first mentioned transaction took place, if that information had been generally available.
He shall be liable to account to the company or other legal entity which issued the financial instruments concerned for any profit accruing to the person concerned from acquiring or disposing of the instruments. This is without prejudice to any course of action which may lie against the person for contravening the provision concerned. An action above must be commenced within two years after the date of the contravention concerned.
Rule Making Powers
The competent authority designated under Irish market abuse law may make rules imposing or enabling it to impose requirements on persons to whom an obligation is imposed by market abuse law. They may be to do or not to do specified things to ensure that Irish market abuse law is complied with. It may include the adoption of procedures and specified forms for the provision of information to the authority.
It may include provisions to do or not to do a thing so as to secure effective supervision by the competent authority of activities to which Irish market abuse law relates. In particular, it may include making such reports or disclosing such matters, at such times and such manners, to the competent authority or other specified persons as are provided for by such rules or specified by the competent authority pursuant to the rules. This includes reports or disclosures of matters which are required by virtue of Irish market abuse law.
Rules may include rules providing for the manner in which or the matters by reference to which a determination is to be made of any issue as to whether financial interests are significant for the purposes of Irish market abuse law.
Administrative Sanctions
Provisions of Irish market abuse law are to be made for the purpose of enabling the imposition of administrative sanctions, which shall apply in relation to a contravention of rules made under the provision, as they apply in relation to contravention of a provision of Irish market abuse law. Accordingly, the sanction may be imposed in respect of a contravention of rules made. The competent authority may issue guidelines in writing as to the steps that may be taken to comply with Irish market abuse law.
The Minister, after consultation with the competent authority, may, by provisional order, provide that any one or more of Irish market abuse law provisions that apply in relation to a market to which the Directive apply shall, apply to a market specified in the order. Such orders may be revoked or amended.