The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has filed a criminal complaint alleging insider trading against the company secretary of a listed company, four close relatives and a private limited company, following an investigation under the Securities Act, 2015. The complaint was filed with the Special Court (Offenses in Banks), Sindh in Karachi and has been admitted as Complaint No. 14 of 2025. The case concerns the accumulation of the listed company’s shares between 22 August 2023 and 12 October 2023 while information on a sponsor buy-back and delisting was non-public and treated as inside information under the Act. SECP’s investigation found the company secretary was privy to price-sensitive information from 11 August 2023 due to his role in the delisting process and allegedly shared it with close relatives and the chief executive officer of an associated company, including by providing funds used to acquire the shares. After public disclosure led to a significant share price increase, the accused parties allegedly sold the shares to the general public, generating collective illicit gains of PKR 338.085 million; SECP also noted none of the accused had prior trading history in the stock. Under the Securities Act, 2015, insider trading is a criminal offence that may result in up to three years’ imprisonment or a fine not exceeding PKR 200 million or three times the illicit gain.

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