RIYADH — The board of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) issued a decision on Wednesday referring several legally-liable officials at Abdullah Al-Khodari Sons company and their relatives to the Public Prosecution on suspicions of violations of insider trading rules that occurred during the period from May 30, 2017 to Jan. 13, 2020.

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, the market regulator added in a statement.

Moreover, some officials made untrue statements about a material fact to influence the security’s price or induce third parties to buy the company`s shares. They also failed to disclose material developments regarding the withdrawal of a number of projects that were awarded to the company.

The move comes as part of the CMA’s efforts to protect the market from illegal practices.

On April 5, the CMA board issued a decision to form an interim committee to supervise the management of Al-Khodari and invite shareholders for a general assembly within a period of no later than three months to elect a new board of directors.

All the company's board members submitted their resignation on April 3, 2021, due to personal reasons. — SG