Regulatory Roundup: 2025 IOSCO Review Assesses Market Surveillance Landscape

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As the report concludes, it acknowledges that while the challenges from 2013 are still being addressed, a new IOSCO workstream focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging, signaling the next frontier in regulatory innovation.

March Capital Markets Regulatory Updates

14 March: The SEC announced a six-month extension of the compliance dates for amendments adopted in September 2023 to the Investment Company Act “Names Rule,” which addresses fund names likely to mislead investors about a fund’s investments and risks.

12 March: The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a new consultation report examining the increasing use of AI in capital markets, identifying five key findings related to decision-making processes, internal operations, risks, industry practices and regulatory responses.

6 March: The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released its quarterly report, reporting strong market performance in 2024, Hong Kong-domiciled funds seeing 88% growth in net inflows and enhanced market connectivity.

3 March: The SEC‘s Crypto Task Force announced a series of public roundtables called “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity,” beginning March 21st with a discussion on defining security status in crypto assets.

1 March: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) appointed Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey as Chairman of the regulatory body. Shri Pandey brings over three decades of expertise in various government roles and economic sectors.

27 February: The SEC‘s Division of Corporation Finance determined that “meme coins,” which are crypto assets inspired by internet memes and typically purchased for entertainment purposes without functional utility, do not qualify as securities under federal securities laws and therefore don’t require SEC registration.

27 February: The SFC proposed increasing position limits for three major Hong Kong exchange-traded derivatives to enhance market flexibility and competitiveness.

25 February: The CFTC‘s Division of Enforcement introduced a new matrix system to evaluate and reward companies’ self-reporting and cooperation efforts, offering penalty reductions up to 55%.

Latest Enforcement Actions and Fines

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined Robinhood Financial and Robinhood Securities a total of$29.75 million for multiple regulatory violations, including inadequate supervision of clearing technology system, anti-money laundering failures, and misleading communications by social media influencers.

Turkish authorities detained 17 people suspected of market manipulation and causing unusual movements in Istanbul’s stock market, following an investigation into artificial fluctuations observed on February 21st when the BIST 100 Index fell 3.4%.

An individual was sentenced for illegally operating crypto ATMs in the U.K. without Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) registration, using false identities and forged documents, marking the U.K.’s first criminal sentencing for unregistered crypto activity.

An Australian man was charged with creating a false appearance of active trading through 679 “wash trades” across three companies between August 2022 and January 2024, facing a maximum penalty of 15 years of imprisonment.

The South Korean Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is investigating South Korea’s second-largest law firm, Lee & Ko, after IT staff allegedly leaked confidential information about Samsung Electronics’ investments in Rainbow Robotics and other companies’ financial details, leading to illegal stock trading profits.

The FSS is investigating potential stock price manipulation at SAMBU Construction after the head of the FSS revealed that major shareholders had gained profits exceeding 10 billion won following the company’s involvement in Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts.