JEDDAH: A special committee has found individuals guilty of providing insider information and insider trading in shares of Saudi telecoms operator Mobily, leaving them facing potential jail terms of between one and two years, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said on Thursday.
The findings of Saudi Arabia’s Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes (CRSD) are not final and the accused have 30 days to lodge an appeal, the CMA said.
The CMA did not name the accused or say how many there were.
The action follows an investigation launched by the CMA in November 2014 after Mobily, part-owned by the UAE-based Etisalat and formally known as Etihad Etisalat, was forced to restate 27 months of earnings because of accounting errors. The restatement cut SR1.76 billion ($469 million) from the company’s profit over the period.
Mobily, the second-largest telecoms company in Saudi Arabia, declined to comment. Etisalat representatives were not immediately available for comment.
The CMA said that the ruling by the CRSD, a quasi-judicial body formed under the Kingdom’s Capital Market Law, included a fine of SR30.5 million for one of the suspects and a further SR284.5 million fine for an unnamed company.
All those found guilty would also be banned from managing portfolios, working as investment consultants or working in listed companies for three years, the CMA said.
The CMA added that the CRSD’s ruling cited the Kingdom’s Capital Market Law on obtaining insider information about a company and Market Conduct Regulations that ban the disclosure of inside information or insider trading.
Saudi panel rules on insider trading in Mobily shares
Saudi panel rules on insider trading in Mobily shares
UAE, Russia explore ways to boost cooperation in new economy sectors
RIYADH: Economic ties between the UAE and Russia are set to strengthen after senior ministers met in Dubai to advance cooperation across investment, energy and other new economy sectors.
UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al-Marri and Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov co-chaired the 12th session of the UAE–Russia Joint Governmental Committee, bringing together representatives from both government and private-sector entities, the Emirates News Agency, also known as WAM, reported.
This follows UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan’s visit to Moscow in August, where he and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed deepening bilateral relations and witnessed the signing of agreements aimed at strengthening economic cooperation.
Trade between the two countries has continued to expand despite global economic uncertainty, with bilateral turnover reaching a record $10.2 billion in 2023 before easing to $10 billion in 2024.
Al-Marri said: “The current session of the committee represents a new step toward building fruitful partnerships between the business communities and the private sector in the two countries, enhancing cooperation and providing support to entrepreneurs from both sides, which contributes to the growth and sustainability of their economies.”
He added: “In our cooperation, we focus on the new economy sectors and priority areas, in order to achieve mutual benefit for the two countries.”
The highlighted the committee’s key role in identifying promising opportunities within the business environments of both countries.
The minister also outlined the advantages offered by the UAE’s business landscape, including flexible economic regulations that permit 100 percent foreign ownership and a modern, supportive climate that facilitates more than 2,000 economic activities.
The committee’s agenda featured discussions on action plans and cooperation mechanisms across sectors, including investment, energy, industry and innovation, and food security and agriculture. It also covered education, transport and logistics, tourism, sports and culture, as well as environmental sustainability, health care and other areas.
Both sides agreed to maintain joint efforts to develop new frameworks for economic collaboration in key sectors and to support entrepreneurs from both countries, aiming to elevate cooperation to broader levels.
