82pc offences involve insider trading, mart manipulation
KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said 82 per cent of its 56 active investigations involved suspected insider trading and market manipulation offences.
The rest of the investigation cases comprised of securities fraud, intermediaries misconduct, unlicensed activities and matters of corporate governance.
A total of 16 referrals were received from sources like market surveillance and investor affairs and complaints departments and other regulatory bodies.
SC said a majority of the whistle-blowing cases - 75 per cent - were attributed to suspicious trading activities like market manipulation and insider trading.
Breaches in corporate governance practices and illegal conduct of regulated activities also figured in the referrals that the SC received, it said in its 2013 annual report released yesterday.
The SC's various enforcement measures in 2013 had resulted in 34 criminal charges filed against six individuals and five against directors in public-listed companies, for offences relating to false financial reporting.
It also filed a civil suit in the High Court against a former licensed asset management company to claim RM13.3 million for losses caused to 63 investors. Regulatory settlements from this case amounted to over RM2.7 million, with steps taken to provide restitution to impacted investors.
The body also imposed four administrative sanctions on licensed intermediaries and as a bond trustee for their failure to comply with regulatory obligations.
A total of RM1.35 million in penalties were collected through such actions and 70 infringement notices were issued for other various breaches of securities laws and guidelines.
The SC used its investigation powers to obtain evidence from various sources like professional companies, financial institutions, public-listed and private companies, regulated entities, investors and various individuals. Oral evidence was gathered as formal recordings of statements from witnesses.
Last year, 246 witnesses' statements were recorded and these individuals comprised of professionals, advisers, company directors, senior management teams from listed companies as well as licensed persons.
As the trend in cross-border transactions is becoming common in many of the SC's investigations, the SC continues to cooperate with its foreign supervisory counterparts through the IOSCO's multilateral memoranda of understanding on consultation and co-operation and exchange of information.
In this regard, the SC made 24 requests to seek assistance from seven foreign jurisdiction to obtain evidence. The places include China, Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.
On the other hand, the SC received 11 requests for assistance from foreign supervisory authorities of seven jurisdictions.
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