Islamabad, January 29, 2025 – The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has issued a clarification regarding its role in sharing information on insider trading cases with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The SECP emphasized that it has been actively investigating cases of market manipulation and insider trading, subsequently filing criminal complaints in relevant courts under the Securities Act, 2015.
Addressing reports about the FIA initiating investigations against capital market players, the SECP reiterated that its primary role is to ensure transparency and accountability within the financial sector. The Commission confirmed that it has shared relevant case details with the FIA in accordance with its legal mandate.
A press release issued by the SECP stated, “The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is empowered to investigate financial crimes, including the aspect of money laundering linked to predicate offences under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 (AML Act, 2010). Since insider trading and market manipulation are classified as predicate offences under this law, the SECP has cooperated with the FIA in its investigations.”
According to the AML Act, 2010, insider trading and market abuse fall under the regulatory domain of the SECP. Consequently, the FIA formally requested the Commission to provide details of all concluded cases involving insider trading and market manipulation. This was to facilitate parallel investigations under the AML Act, 2010.
In response to the FIA’s request, the SECP shared a comprehensive list of cases where investigations had been completed, and criminal complaints had already been filed in the courts. Specifically, in September 2024, the SECP submitted details of 27 criminal complaints filed since 2008, as per the Anti-Money Laundering (Referral) Rules, 2021.
The SECP also clarified that the records of these cases are public since they are part of judicial proceedings. Any authority or individual can access these records by following the due legal process.
Furthermore, the SECP stressed that referring these cases to the FIA does not imply wrongdoing on the part of the companies whose stocks were manipulated or the brokerage houses involved in the trading process. Instead, the focus remains on identifying and prosecuting individuals directly engaged in insider trading and market manipulation, as outlined under the Securities Act, 2015.