Insider trading crimes punished by a regulator cannot be followed by prosecution in criminal courts, according to a ruling by Europe’s high court last week.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg rejected a request by Italian authorities for the ECHR Grand Chamber to review the court’s decision issued in March of this year. That ruling said that Italy must drop criminal proceedings against Franzo Grande Stevens and two others for market manipulation because they had already been punished by the regulatory authority, the Italian Companies and Stock Exchange Commission (Consob). Because the five judges of the Grand Chamber rejected Italy’s request, the March decision is now final.
