The Bermuda Stock Exchange this week lauded passage of Criminal Code amendments which created the offences of insider trading and market manipulation.

?I?m delighted to see this on the books. It brings our securities regulations in line with international regulatory standards. It?s a key component to ensure that retail investors in Bermuda are protected and have confidence in the integrity of the market,? said Greg Wojciechowski, president and CEO of the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

BSX regulations already prohibited its members from insider trading and market manipulation for its members, but the exchange was limited to ending membership when violations were found and it was impotent in dealing with non-members.

Under the new law such activity is criminal and can result in a $10,000 fine or six months in prison for people summarily convicted of market manipulation, or a $100,000 fine or up to five years imprisonment upon indictment.

And those found guilty of insider trading will face even harsher punishment - a $25,000 fine on summary conviction or two years in prison, and a fine of $175,000 or seven years in prison upon indictment.

While many other countries already have laws against insider trading and market manipulation the offences created yesterday were a first for Bermuda.

The measures deal strictly with criminalisation of insider trading and market manipulation and applies only to regulated investment markets in Bermuda.

Currently the Bermuda Stock Exchange is the only regulated investment market on the Island.

Finance Minister Paula Cox said during debate of the bill last Friday that a second legislative plank introducing civil penalties would be brought in the future.

She said the law was necessary for Bermuda to maintain internationally recognised standards and that the BSX had been hampered on the international stage by the absence of such laws.

Ms Cox added that the exchange was not in a position to oversee the conduct of non members (not, as was incorrectly reported in this newspaper, of its own members).