Market abuse regulations : the Maltese perspective prior and post to the implementation of the EC market abuse directive

Abstract

The effective deterring, monitoring and enforcement of insider dealing and market abuse is seen to be crucial to the success of any financial market. They are the necessary building blocks to ensure a level playing field and thus inspire confidence and enable the wealth generation which is central to any financial market. The laws relating to insider dealing in Malta have been in place since 1990. In 1994 we saw the introduction of a law specifically dealing with insider dealing, the Insider Dealing Act 1994. The laws on market abuse were introduced in 2002 when the 1994 act was amended and renamed the Insider Dealing and Market Abuse Offences Act. The Insider Dealing and Market Abuse Offences Act has been repealed since the coming into force of the Prevention of Financial Market Abuse Act 2005 which transposed the Market Abuse Directive into Maltese legislation. The Market Abuse Directive is the first directive of the European Union Financial Services Action Plan for the creation of a single market for financial services to be adopted under the Lamfalussy process. This thesis will look at the regulatory regimes in Malta prior and post to the implementation of the Market Abuse Directive in the context of the European Union's plan of action to establish a single market for financial services.