Categories of criminal offences involving securities activities: Deliberate disclosure of false information or concealment of information in securities activities; Use of insider information for trading securities; Manipulation of the securities market; Forgery of documents in securities offering and listing profile

While other investment channels such as real estate, gold, cryptocurrency, and so on may no longer be safe or promising, investing in securities has become one of the channels that is attracting many investors due to the profits and liquidity that this market brings. However, although securities investment may result in significant returns, it also comes with high risks. These risks stem not only from the rules of pricing and competition, but also from the possession and use of information on the market. As a result, to ensure that the securities market operates in an open and transparent manner, as well as to decrease risks to investors, the State has enacted regulations and penalties for securities-related offences. Criminal acts relating to securities activities can be categorized into three main groups, specifically:

Group 1 includes acts affecting the securities market related to the use of information on the securities market such as: taking advantage of obtained insider information, giving false information, or concealing information in securities activities to gain illicit profits or cause damage to investors.

Group 2 includes specific acts that manipulate the securities market to gain illicit profits or cause damage to investors such as (i) Using one or more trading accounts, or colluding with others to buy and sell securities on a continuous basis, in order to create artificial supply and demand; (ii) Placing buy and sell orders for the same securities on the same trading day, colluding with others to buy and sell securities without actually transferring ownership, or circulating ownership among group members to create artificial supply and demand; (iii) Continuously buying or selling a type of security in dominant volume at the opening or closing of the market in order to create a new closing or opening price for that type of security on the market; (iv) Securities trading in the form of collusion, enticing people to constantly place buy and sell orders for securities which dramatically alter the supply and demand and securities prices, and manipulating securities prices; (v) Expressing an opinion either directly or indirectly through the mass media about types of securities, or about securities issuers, to influence the price of such securities after trading and maintaining large holdings of such securities; (vi) Using tactics or other trading acts, or combining them to spread false rumors or providing misleading information to the public in order to create artificial supply and demandwhich results in manipulation of securities prices.

Group 3 includes acts of forgery of documents related to securities offerings and listing profiles in order to gain illicit profits.

Protecting information and securities prices on the stock market also means that listed companies are safeguarding the Company’s and shareholders’ assets. In today’s “flat world” of information, detecting, remedying, and limiting the damage caused by securities-related violations is a tremendous challenge for listed joint stock companies. With extensive experience in investment consulting, mergers and acquisitions, and criminal proceedings, Le & Tran provides an accurate assessment of the current situation and recommends the most cost-effective and ethical course of action when confronting criminal acts in the securities sector. With astute thinking and reasoning skills, as well as a thorough comprehension of the criminal system, our team of lawyers can confidently advise, represent, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of businesses against criminal conduct, thereby contributing to the creation of a transparent and fair investment and securities trading environment.