June 2025 Capital Markets Regulatory Updates
20 June 2025: The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched its first selection procedure for a Consolidated Tape Provider (CTP) for shares and ETFs to improve market transparency and efficiency.
19 June 2025: The Korea Exchange (KRX) is establishing a Rapid Investigation Department to enhance market surveillance and swiftly address abnormal trading.
13 June 2025: The Taiwanese Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) previewed a draft bill, proposing steep penalties for crypto-related crimes, while also introducing a licensing regime and promoting industry self-regulation to enhance trust and oversight in the virtual assets sector.
10 June 2025: The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finalized rules for its new platform, the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES), which will enable secondary trading of private company shares among institutional and sophisticated investors.
6 June 2025: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) clarified that Digital Token Service Providers serving only overseas clients must obtain a license, underscoring MAS’ strict stance on mitigating money laundering risks in cross-border crypto activities.
6 June 2025: The FCA announced its proposal to lift the ban on crypto exchange traded notes (cETNs) for retail investors, aiming to enhance market competitiveness while maintaining safeguards through financial promotion rules and FCA-approved trading venues.
5 June 2025: The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to advance the CLARITY Act—a bipartisan bill aimed at establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets to promote innovation, protect consumers and restore U.S. leadership in financial technology.
3 June 2025: The FCA published an updated Enforcement Guide, retaining the ‘exceptional circumstances’ test for announcing investigations and introducing new transparency measures.
29 May 2025: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) introduced new rules for the equity futures and options market to enhance transparency, curb excessive speculation and improve market stability by tightening position limits and linking them to cash market volumes and stock liquidity.
Latest Fines and Enforcement Actions
- ASC reached a settlement with an individual who admitted to participating in a market manipulation scheme involving shares through uptick trading and bid support, creating a misleading appearance of trading activity and artificial pricing.
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The Sindh Special Court issued Pakistan’s first-ever insider trading conviction, finding the former AVP at a private bank guilty of using confidential bank information for personal gain, resulting in a financial penalty of approximately $31,000 USD.
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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) secured guilty pleas for four individuals who participated in a coordinated pump-and-dump scheme targeting Australian penny stocks via Telegram groups.
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The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) fined an individual $21,000 for executing trades outside a recognized marketplace.
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The FCA led a global crackdown on unlawful finfluencers, making three arrests, initiating criminal proceedings against three individuals, and issuing 50 warning alerts that triggered over 650 takedown requests across social media and websites.
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The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) secured a final judgment against multiple individuals and entities involved in a fraudulent digital asset scheme, ordering over $25 million in penalties and restitution, and permanently banning them from participating in CFTC-regulated markets.
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CIRO sanctioned Canaccord Genuity Corp. with a $600,000 fine, $2.2 million in disgorgement and $50,000 in costs for failing to act as a gatekeeper in U.S. over-the-counter low-priced securities trading.
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SEBI barred 59 individuals and entities from the securities markets for up to five years and ordered them to disgorge approximately $6.7 million USD for orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme using misleading YouTube videos.
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SEBI imposed a trading ban on IndusInd Bank’s former CEO and four senior executives for allegedly engaging in insider trading based on undisclosed accounting discrepancies in the bank’s derivatives portfolio.
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The FCA secured insider dealing and money laundering convictions against two individuals who used confidential market information obtained through employment to profit from trades executed via third-party accounts.
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