ASIC grapples with soaring number of market misconduct reports
Facing a record number of insider trading and market manipulation reports, the corporate cop’s workload has never looked bigger.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is facing a surge in reports of dodgy market behaviour, raising questions on what it pursues and what it eventually prosecutes.
The number of suspicious activity reports (SARs) — which outline alleged instances of market manipulation or insider trading — filed with ASIC has been increasing rapidly each year, with 2024 on track to set a new record.
Data obtained by Capital Brief through a Freedom of Information request shows that SARs have risen sharply in recent years, growing 43% in 2022 and another 18% in 2023. This is in addition to ASIC’s broader surveillance work and informal tip-offs.
At the current rate, ASIC is expected to receive around 180 reports of misconduct this year — 30% more than last year and more than double the number received in 2021.
