HELSINKI, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) will investigate whether Nasdaq Stockholm (NDAQ.O) violated market regulations by not reporting suspected insider trading, the regulator said in a statement on Thursday.
The investigation will focus on possible breaches during several major corporate events in 2021 and 2022, the FSA said.
Nasdaq said it was cooperating with the regulator and conducting its own investigations.
“There are strong reasons to initiate an investigation as Nasdaq is a very important player in the market,” the FSA said.
It also said Nasdaq’s notifications were important for the FSA to be able to fulfil its mission to prevent market abuse.
“A non-functioning monitoring at the largest operator entails great risks,” the FSA said.
Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority last week said it had conducted a raid at Nasdaq to gather evidence of suspected insider dealing but added the exchange itself was not under suspicion.
Financial daily Dagens Industri, citing unidentified sources, reported at the time that one of the suspects in the case was a Nasdaq employee.
Nasdaq said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday that it was fully cooperating with the FSA and the prosecutor.
“We are currently conducting our own investigation into this matter,” Nasdaq’s General Counsel for Europe Andreas Gustafsson said in the statement.
Nasdaq’s internal records showed the company had made referrals to the FSA “surrounding transactions in certain stocks that are included in the FSA’s investigation,” he added.
Reporting by Essi Lehto
Editing by Anna Ringstrom and Mark Potter
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