10 investors convicted for violating Saudi stock market rules

Ten investors have been convicted of violating the Kingdom’s Capital Market Law and ordered to pay the government a total of $27.1 million in fines and compensation for losses, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

The Appeal Committee for Resolution of Securities Disputes, or ACRSD, sentenced one of the individuals to imprisonment, the SPA report said. The “final decision” was issued by the ACRSD on Dec. 24, 2023.

The amount of $27.1 million comprised SR670,000 in fines and SR101 million as compensation for losses resulting from the violations committed in their investment portfolios, the report added.

The convictions, which included bans on trading for between one and two years, were announced online in detail by the ACRSD and the Capital Market Authority. According to the ACRSD statement, cases were filed against the 10 investors after referral by the CMA.

Several of the perpetrators had “illegally” disclosed internal information related to the financial position of Abdullah A.M. Al-Khodari & Sons Co. before it was made available to the public.

They had also falsely boosted the value of the firm to manipulate the share price and lure in unsuspecting investors.

In a statement posted on its website and on X, the CMA said: “One of the (convicted) was held responsible for making an incorrect statement in the announcement published by a listed company in the capital market.

“This was done to affect the price of the security or to urge others to purchase the security, in addition to his responsibility for neglecting to disclose essential developments in the company.”

In addition, others “engaged in trading based on the illegally disclosed internal information, intending to benefit from it before it was announced and made available to the general public.”

Named in the ruling were Mish’al bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alkhudari, Naif bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alali, Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alkhudari, Ghada bint Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alkhudari, and Sami bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alkhudari.

The others named were Fawaz bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alkhudari, Jameel bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alkhudari, Ali bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alkhudari, Fawzi bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alali, and Fawzia bint Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alali.

Fawaz bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Alkhudari was ordered to pay the CMA SR50.5 million because of the violations he committed in his investment portfolio.

The others were fined sums between SR100,000 and SR12 million.

Investors who had lost money have been urged to file claims for compensation, the SPA stated.