Market Abuse Update: January 2016

In September, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the final draft of its technical standards for the Market Abuse Regulation (EU MAR), which will replace the current civil regime on 3 July 2016.  EU MAR and the associated Level 2 measures considerably expand the scope of the present regime, introducing more stringent regulation and significant new procedural requirements in a number of key areas. We await publication of the further guidance mandated by EU MAR, and the European Commission's adoption of the Level 2 measures.

In the UK, the FCA published its consultation paper on the implementation of EU MAR, and HM Treasury (HMT) has now published a draft of the statutory instrument which will amend the primary legislation, and shape the regulatory framework from July 2016.

UK regulators have also been concerned with the risk of market abuse in the commodities and energy markets, sectors in which firms are beginning to come to grips with new regulation. Across the pond, US authorities have brought notable market abuse criminal cases to prosecution, and an important ruling in the Newman case will once again change direction on the scope of insider trading. Our briefing aims to assist firms in meeting the challenge of responding to these developments. 

In this issue we consider:

• Notable US criminal prosecutions
• Good and poor practices regarding market abuse controls in commodities trading firms
• REMIT: Ofgem's open letter on energy market abuse and ACER update
• The FCA's consultation on EU MAR implementation
• ESMA's final draft technical standards on EU MAR, including commentary on:
  • market soundings
  • suspicious transaction and order reporting
  • disclosure of inside information
  • insider lists
  • investment recommendations.