Enforcement of Financial Market Manipulation Laws : An International Comparison of Sanctions

Market manipulation, generally considered to be a serious form of misconduct, has been a significant focus of regulators, the media and others in Australia and internationally, with widespread allegations of market manipulation, not just relating to securities, but in relation to interest rates, foreign exchange and commodities.This working paper presents the results of a detailed comparative empirical study of sanctions imposed for trade-based market manipulation in Australia, Canada (Ontario), Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK). The comparative study is based on a dataset of around 250 sanctions imposed on individuals and companies (‘defendants') found or alleged to have contravened market manipulation provisions across the jurisdictions. The study compares the type, magnitude and frequency of sanctions imposed by statutory bodies and the courts for market manipulation in the selected jurisdictions in the ten year period from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2015 (‘the study period'). The study provides a detailed analysis of the market manipulation enforcement landscape across a range of common law jurisdictions over an extended period by examining custodial sentences, banning orders and various pecuniary sanctions imposed for market manipulation. Other sanctions are available, such as community service orders, good behaviour bonds, and cease and desist orders. These sanctions are not included in the study because they were relatively infrequent and were in most cases imposed in conjunction with other sanctions such as fines and custodial sentences