The Saudi stock market regulator, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has referred several executives at Abdullah A. M. Al-Khodari Sons Co. and their relatives to the public prosecution on suspicions of insider trading between May 30, 2017 and January 13, 2020.

In a statement on the Saudi stock exchange Tadawul, the CMA said: “The suspicions are related to violations of Articles (49) and (50) of the Capital Market Law and Articles (5), (6) and (7) of the Market Conduct Regulations, due to the disclosure of insider information and trading on the company’s shares based on this information.”

Earlier this month, the entire board of directors of the construction engineering company, including its chairman, Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Hajri, had resigned, according to a previous disclosure. 

The CMA said executives also failed to disclose material developments regarding the withdrawal of several projects that were awarded to the company. They made “an untrue statement about a material fact to influence the security’s price or induce third parties to buy the company’s shares.”

In December last year, Al-Khodari had said that 10 government projects, worth a total of $265 million, had been withdrawn when in various stages of execution.

Also, earlier this month, the regulator decided to form an interim committee to supervise the management of Al-Khodari and to elect a new board of directors within three months.

(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Daniel Luiz)

brinda.darasha@refinitiv.com

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