Burden of proof

Proposed regulation for unlawful trades will not work

A recent consultation paper from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on “Prohibition of unexplained suspicious trading activities” outlines the proposed regulations. The regulator has identified the practical challenges it faces in dealing with insider trading, front-running, and pump and dump scams. But the remedies it suggests may be impractical and a regulatory overreach. The paper deals with offences like front-running trades on the basis of “material non-public information” (MNPI), insider trading on the basis of unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI), and with pump and dump schemes. For instance, employees of a financial institution like a mutual fund may