Singapore legislation
Section 197
Section 197
False trading and market rigging transactions
(1)
A person must not do any thing, cause any thing to be done or engage in any course of conduct, if the person’s purpose, or any of the person’s purposes, for doing that thing, causing that thing to be done or engaging in that course of conduct (as the case may be) is to create a false or misleading appearance —
of active trading in any capital markets products on an organised market; or
with respect to the market for, or the price of, any capital markets products traded on an organised market.
(1A)
A person must not do any thing, cause any thing to be done or engage in any course of conduct that creates, or is likely to create, a false or misleading appearance of active trading in any capital markets products on an organised market, or with respect to the market for, or the price of, any capital markets products traded on an organised market, if —
the person knows that doing that thing, causing that thing to be done or engaging in that course of conduct (as the case may be) will create, or will be likely to create, that false or misleading appearance; or
the person is reckless as to whether doing that thing, causing that thing to be done or engaging in that course of conduct (as the case may be) will create, or will be likely to create, that false or misleading appearance.
(2)
A person must not maintain, inflate, depress, or cause fluctuations in, the market price of any capital markets products —
by means of any purchase or sale of any capital markets products that does not involve a change in the beneficial ownership of the capital markets products; or
by any fictitious transaction or device.
(3)
Without limiting subsection (1), it is presumed that a person’s purpose, or one of a person’s purposes, is to create a false or misleading appearance of active trading in capital markets products on an organised market if the person —
effects, takes part in, is concerned in or carries out, directly or indirectly, any transaction of purchase or sale of the capital markets products, being a transaction that does not involve any change in the beneficial ownership of the capital markets products;
makes or causes to be made an offer to sell the capital markets products at a specified price, where the person has made or caused to be made or proposes to make or to cause to be made, or knows that a person associated with the person has made or caused to be made or proposes to make or to cause to be made, an offer to purchase the same number, or substantially the same number, of the capital markets products at a price that is substantially the same as the firstmentioned price; or
makes or causes to be made an offer to purchase the capital markets products at a specified price, where the person has made or caused to be made or proposes to make or to cause to be made, or knows that a person associated with the person has made or caused to be made or proposes to make or to cause to be made, an offer to sell the same number, or substantially the same number, of the capital markets products at a price that is substantially the same as the firstmentioned price.
(4)
The presumption under subsection (3) may be rebutted if the defendant establishes that the purpose or purposes for which the defendant did the act was not, or did not include, the purpose of creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading in the capital markets products on the organised market.
(5)
For the purposes of this section, a purchase or sale of capital markets products does not involve a change in the beneficial ownership if any of the following persons has an interest in the capital markets products after the purchase or sale:
a person who had an interest in the capital markets products before the purchase or sale;
a person associated with the person mentioned in paragraph (a).
(6)
In any proceedings against a person for a contravention of subsection (2) in relation to a purchase or sale of capital markets products that did not involve a change in the beneficial ownership of the capital markets products, it is a defence if the defendant establishes that the purpose or purposes for which the defendant purchased or sold the capital markets products was not, or did not include, the purpose of creating a false or misleading appearance with respect to the market for, or the price of, the capital markets products.
(7)
The reference in subsection (3)(a) to a transaction of purchase or sale of the capital markets products includes —
a reference to the making of an offer to purchase or sell the capital markets products; and
a reference to the making of an invitation, however expressed, that expressly or impliedly invites a person to offer to purchase or sell the capital markets products.