ABSTRACT
Insider dealing is the illegal trading in shares or securities by someone, or at the instigation of someone, with inside knowledge of unpublished business data or information that would affect the price of shares being bought or sold. 1 It has been defined by Alexander as:
trading in organised securities markets by persons in possession of material non-public information, and has been recognised as a widespread problem that is extremely difficult to eradicate. Some of the insider dealing is based on corporate information, that is, information about a company’s finances or operations. 2
Because of the desirability of having a clean market in the United Kingdom (UK), a policy of criminalising the activity with an additional civil recovery route has been introduced. The primary focus of this chapter will therefore be to analyse these initiatives, including an attempt to quantify the extent of the problem. The chapter will then consider background to the policy of criminalising and regulating insider dealing, plus an evaluation of the financial institutions and regulatory bodies involved. Finally, we look at the success of criminal and civil sentencing options and practices.
