Moldova plans to introduce criminal penalties for the misuse of privileged information and manipulation in the natural gas market.
The corresponding amendments to the Criminal Code and the Law on Natural Gas were approved by the parliament in the first reading. The legislation proposes to introduce special provisions on the honesty and transparency of the wholesale natural gas market, which provide for: a ban on transactions based on privileged information, the obligation to publish privileged information, the responsibility of professional transaction intermediaries, a ban on market manipulation, requirements for non-disclosure of confidential information, security transparency, data protection and professional secrecy, etc. Privileged information in the Natural Gas Law will mean accurate information that has not been made public and directly or indirectly relates to one or more wholesale energy products, and which, if made public, could significantly affect the prices of wholesale energy products. An attempted market manipulation would involve executing a transaction or order to trade in wholesale energy products with the intent to give false instructions or deceptive signals regarding the demand, supply or price of wholesale energy products; artificially set the price of one or more wholesale energy products; use a fictitious tool or any other form of deception or breach of trust that conveys or is capable of conveying false or misleading information about the supply, demand or price of wholesale energy products. Also, manipulation will be considered the dissemination of information through the media and the Internet with the intent to send false or misleading messages about the supply, demand or price of wholesale energy products. According to the draft, NAER will be authorized to investigate non-compliance with the above requirements and monitor the market for wholesale energy products. According to the amendments to the Criminal Code, actions to manipulate the natural gas market, which led to damage on an especially large scale, are proposed to be punished with a fine of 2350 to 3350 cu. or imprisonment for up to 3 years, in both cases with deprivation (or without) the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of 2 to 5 years, and a fine from 5,000 to 7,000 cu may be applied to a legal entity for such acts with the deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities or with the liquidation of a legal entity. At the same time, the illegal use of privileged information in the natural gas market will be punished if damage is caused on an especially large scale: a fine will range from 1350 to 3350 cu. or imprisonment - up to 2 years, in both cases with deprivation (or without) the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of 2 to 5 years, and the legal entity will be punished by a fine of 4,000 to 7,000 c.u. with the deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities or with liquidation. The bill must be considered in the second reading. // 08.04.2022 — InfoMarket
