Overview of Selected Role–Players in the Detection and Enforcement of Market Abuse Cases and Appeals in South Africa

Abstract

It is generally accepted that there is no comprehensive and satisfactory definition of “market abuse” that exists to date.1 However, for the purposes of this article “market abuse” is used as a generic term referring to insider trading and market manipulation.South Africa had anti– market abuse legislation in place since the late 1990s but nonetheless the enforcement of such legislation to combat market abuse activities has been inconsistent and problematic to date.It is against this background that this article analyses the role and effectiveness of selected key role-players that primarily deals with the detection of market abuse cases and the enforcement of appeals involving such cases in South Africa, namely, the Board of Appeal, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited and the courts in order to increase awareness on the part of the general public, policy makers and other relevant stakeholders. In this regard, the article examines whether the relevant market abuse provisions are being effectively implemented by the role-players to detect and combat market abuse activities in the South African financial markets. Consequently, the article provides an overview analysis on the roles and distinct functions of the Board of Appeal (BOA),the JSE and the courts in the detection of market abuse practices and the enforcement of appeals involving such practices in South Africa. Notably, other key role-players that primarily deal with the investigation, prevention and enforcement of the market abuse prohibition in South Africa, namely, the Financial Services Board (FSB), the Directorate of Market Abuse (DMA) and the Enforcement Committee (EC) will not be analysed in this article.