The Law of Market Manipulation in Saudi Arabia

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The Law of Market Manipulation in Saudi Arabia THE LAW OF MARKET MANIPULATION IN SAUDI ARABIA: A CASE FOR REFORM A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Law By Saad Ali Aljloud LLM Westminster University LLM Imam University LLB Imam University School of Law Brunel University 2016 i DECLARATION I declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own except where it is stated otherwise. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Saad Aljloud ii ABSTRACT The integrity of financial markets is threatened by a number of harmful practices. These are often generally described as ‘market abuse’. Market abuse comprises two practices: insider dealing and market manipulation. This thesis mainly explores market manipulation and the relevant Saudi law. Market manipulation was first regulated in 2003.1 It is therefore possible and useful for the purposes of this thesis, to distinguish between the pre- and post- enactment periods. This study has four main objectives. First, it will define market manipulation and describe its most common forms. Secondly, it will assess the application of Saudi civil and criminal law to market manipulation prior to the enactment of the Capital Market Law 2003. Thirdly, it will critically evaluate the application of this law to the different forms of market manipulation. Finally, it will assess how well the 2003 law is enforced. Different methodologies have been used to achieve these objectives with a focus on critical analysis and comparative study. The author has used the well- established US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to evaluate the Capital Market Law 2003. Prior to the enactment of this law, there were almost no regulations dealing with market manipulation. The 2003 law is applicable to most forms of market manipulation with the exception of security price stabilization and forms manipulation. Penalties under Saudi civil law tend to be more lenient compared to the US and the UK and this may inhibit its deterrent effect. Also, Saudi judges generally tend to lack the necessary understanding of manipulative practices to enforce the law effectively. Therefore, the success of the 2003 law in deterring and punishing manipulative practices should be reassessed in a few years’ time, when there is more data to make an accurate evaluation. Keywords: Insider dealing, Islamic law, Market abuse, Market manipulation, Regulation. 1 Capital Market Authority, ‘Annual Report 2007’ (Capital Market Authority 2007) 16. iii | P a g e TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ........................................................................................................ I ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... IX LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................. X GLOSARY .............................................................................................................. XII TABLE OF CASES .............................................................................................. XVI LEGISLATION .................................................................................................... XIX LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. XXI LIST OF TABLE ................................................................................................. XXI CHAPTER 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LAW OF MARKET MANIPULATION IN SAUDI ARABIA: A CASE FOR REFORM ..................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research Method .................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Research Problem................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Research Objectives ............................................................................................... 4 1.5 Literature Review: Establishing the Originality of this Thesis .............................. 5 1.6 Research Significance ............................................................................................ 7 1.7 Research Structure ................................................................................................. 9 CHAPTER 2: THE SAUDI ARABIAN LAW OF MARKET MANIPULATION .................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 11 2.2 The Historical Development of the Saudi Capital Market Law ........................... 11 2.2.1 The First Stage (1935–1982) .................................................................... 12 2.2.2 The Second Stage (1983–2002) ................................................................ 13 2.2.3 The Modern Stage (2003–Present) ........................................................... 15 2.2.4 The Active Capital Market ....................................................................... 16 2.3 The Current Operational Structure ....................................................................... 17 2.3.1 The Electronic Securities Information System (ESIS) ....................................... 17 2.4 The position of Islamic Law in Saudi Arabia ...................................................... 18 iv | P a g e 2.4.1 Nature of legislative system ..................................................................... 19 2.5 The Legal Structure of Judicial system in Saudi Arabia; and its subsequent development. ........................................................................................................ 20 2.5.1 Judicial Bodies in Saudi Arabia ................................................................ 21 2.5.1.1 The Ministry of Justice………………………………………….21 2.5.2 The Current Judicial and Court System .................................................... 22 2.5.2.1 The Supreme Judicial Council……………………………………....22 2.5.2.2 The Courts of Appeal (Courts of Cassation)…...………………..….23 2.5.2.3 First-Instance courts (General and Summary Courts)……..………..23 2.5.2.4 The Board of Grievances……….………………………………..….24 2.5.2.5 Quasi- Judicial Commission and Administrative Committees….….25 2.5.2.6 Characteristics of judicial commissions……...…………….…….....25 2.5.2.7 Types of Judicial commissions………………………………………..25 2.6 Principles of crime and punishment in the system ……………….…………….26 2.6.1 Examples of crimes regarding which legislation has been issued and used in courts………………………………………………………………..26 2.6.2 New procedure under the criminal law of capital market authority ......... 27 2.7 Market Manipulation ............................................................................................ 28 2.7.1 Market manipulation by provision of false information……...………….…29 2.7.2 Market manipulation by misleading transactions………...…………………29 2.7.3 Market manipulation by practices/actions which lead to a false impression.30 2.8 Importance of the Stock Exchange ..................................................................... 30 2.8.1 The Saudi Stock Market and its Regulation ............................................. 31 2.8.2 Insider Trading ........................................................................................ 32 2.9 Select Decisions of the Committee for Resolution of Security Disputes............. 35 2.10 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER 3: THE ISLAMIC LAW OF MARKET MANIPULATION .......... 57 3.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 57 3.2 The Legislation System in Islamic Law ............................................................... 57 3.3 The Fundamental Principles of Islamic Law ....................................................... 58 3.3.1 Civilian Rights (Transactions) .................................................................. 58 3.3.2 Commercial Contracts in Islamic Finance................................................ 59 3.3.3 Criminal Law (Crime and Punishment) .................................................... 60 v | P a g e 3.4. Sources and Methods of Islamic law .................................................................. 61 3.4.1 The Holy Qur’an as a Primary Source ...................................................... 61 3.4.2 The Sunnah as a Primary Source .............................................................. 65 3.4.3 Ijma (Juristic Consensus) as a Primary Source ........................................ 71 3.4.4 Qiyas ......................................................................................................... 72 3.5 Subsequent Sources of Islamic Law: Approbation .............................................. 73 3.5.1 The First Source of Guidance ................................................................... 73 3.5.2 Sadd al-dhara'i' ( Blocking the means) ................................................... 73 3.5.3 Al-Masalah Al-Morslah ...........................................................................
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