MTC Represents Clients in Acquittal and Quashment of Insider Trading Complaint

Mohsin Tayebaly & Co. has successfully represented its individual clients in a complaint pertaining to insider trading filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) before the Special Offences (Respect of Banks) Court, Karachi.

The clients were charged with offenses under Section 128, 129 and 130 of the Securities Act, 2015 and it was alleged that the clients were privy to information from an insider of a possible merger between two companies while trading in related shares. It was argued on behalf of our clients that the information pertaining to the stated merger was available few months prior to the merger itself and merger proceedings itself were filed before the relevant court making it a matter public knowledge as opposed to confidential information. The Special Court while agreeing with the defence acquitted or clients under Section 249-A of the Criminal Procedure Code and quashed the complaint accordingly.

It is pertinent to note that judicial precedents in matter pertaining to financial crimes including insider trading, front running and tailgating are very rare, however, due to changing market landscapes, the law in this area is also developing in Pakistan.

MTC’s team in the matter was led by Mr. Talha Javed, Senior Associate.