Sweden's financial watchdog said Wednesday it had fined the Stockholm stock exchange close to $10 million for failing to detect and report suspected insider trading.
The Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) said it had investigated "four major company events in 2021 and 2022", as well as two other cases of trading of financial instruments in 2022 and 2023.
"The investigations show that, in conjunction with the four company events, there have been deficiencies in how Nasdaq Stockholm has conducted its trading monitoring, which should prevent, identify and report insider dealing," the FSA said in a statement.
The four companies were identified as food retail company ICA, Lundin Energy, tobacco producer Swedish Match and vehicle safety product maker Haldex.
"The investigations also show that Nasdaq Stockholm on two occasions initiated trading in financial instruments in violation of the regulatory framework," the FSA added.
The authority said the violations were not serious enough to warrant withdrawing the exchange's authorisation.
It said it was therefore issuing "a remark and an administrative fine of 100 million kronor ($9.6 million)".
"Exchanges must comply with the regulations that exist to prevent, detect and report insider trading. It is ultimately about confidence in the financial market," FSA director general Daniel Barr said.
Nasdaq Stockholm said in a statement to AFP that it took the matter "very seriously".
"We maintain our position that we had sufficient capabilities to detect insider dealings," it said, adding that it would assess the FSA's "interpretation of our obligations and its implications."
