Markkinaväärinkäyttöasetus

Markkinaväärinkäyttöasetus, officially Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on market abuse, is a piece of European Union legislation. It aims to ensure the integrity of financial markets within the EU and to increase investor confidence. The regulation replaced the previous Market Abuse Directive.

The core objectives of the markkinaväärinkäyttöasetus are to prevent and combat market abuse, which includes insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information, and market manipulation. Insider dealing refers to the use of non-public, price-sensitive information to buy or sell financial instruments. Unlawful disclosure occurs when someone with inside information reveals it to others who then use it for trading. Market manipulation encompasses actions that create a false or misleading impression about the supply, demand, or price of a financial instrument.

The regulation applies to a wide range of financial instruments admitted to trading on regulated markets, multilateral trading facilities (MTFs), and organized trading facilities (OTFs). It also covers instruments traded on SME growth markets. The markkinaväärinkäyttöasetus imposes obligations on issuers of financial instruments, market participants, and trading venues. These obligations include timely disclosure of inside information, maintaining insider lists, and reporting suspicious transactions. National competent authorities are responsible for supervising and enforcing the regulation within their respective member states. Penalties for breaches can be significant, including fines and, in some cases, criminal sanctions.