Market Abuse Regime
The pre-existing Market Abuse Regime (an EU-wide market abuse regime and framework for establishing a proper flow of information to the market) has been extended and aligned with MiFID II. There is now a new Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) (Regulation (EU) No 596/2014) that replaces the old Market Abuse Directive in its entirety and creates a single rule book for market abuse and a supplementing Directive on Criminal Sanctions for Insider Dealing and Market Manipulation (MAD) (Directive 2014/57/EU). MAR has been active since 3 July 2016.
In addition to affecting regulated markets, MAR extends its scope to capture financial instruments traded on, or admitted to be traded on, a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) and also to those traded on an Organised Trading Facility (OTF) (it also includes those products, such as contracts for difference, whose price or value is referenced to such instruments). MAR applies to all these instruments regardless of whether or not the transaction in question is actually traded on a regulated market or over-the-counter (OTC).
At a national level and for the purpose of harmonisation with the abovementioned EU framework, Cyprus has enacted the Market Abuse Law of 2016 (Law 102(I)/2016) which replaces the Law on Insider Dealing and Market Manipulation (Market Abuse) of 2005 (Law 116(I)/2005), as amended, as well as all the Directives issued pursuant to this Law.
The new Market Abuse Regime is a significant regulatory change that MAP S.Platis has been tracking as closely as possible. We are uniquely placed to assist your organisation overcome MAD/MAR challenges and ensure your readiness for this key piece of legislation. Our services, among others, include:
- Adjustment of your compliance monitoring programmes;
- Review and drafting of your market abuse policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the new requirements;
- Enhanced examination of your current systems and physical infrastructure to control and prevent market abuse offences;
- Training staff members on ‘Market Abuse,’ and;
- Ad-hoc thematic reports and reviews, which can be tailored to your specific needs.
For more information, please feel free to contact us