ArmInfo. On October 20, the National Assembly of Armenia passed amendments in the Law "On securities market" in the second and final reading. When presenting the draft amendments, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia Nerses Yeritsyan said that the document aims to toughen the penalty for the abuse on the securities market. Yeritsyan noted that the amendments aim to enhance the transparency and safety of the securities market for the investors.
The document stipulates specific efficient instruments to combat possible abuse, as well as to launch international cooperation, introduce international standards, which will allow avoiding price fluctuations and secret deals on the market. The amendments will also bring the law in compliance with the standards approved by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). In addition, there are requirements related to the Eurasian Economic Union, because the EEU intends to create a common platform for securities trade. The Criminal Code of Armenia will also be amended accordingly. It will contain a provision about public danger for the abuse on the securities market. In particular, two types of abuse are fixed. The first abuse is the dishonest use of inside information, when the insider, who holds exclusive information, gets high profit at the expense of the other investors. In case the deal amounts to 20 mln drams and more, insiders face criminal charges. The second type is price abuse. Various market participants can raise and reduce the securities prices every now and then. As a result, the investors - especially, the foreign ones - who have made institutional investments find themselves in a difficult situation. The amendments are also expected to enhance the competition and transparency, and to activate the investment environment, Yeritsyan said.