CORPORATIONS ACT 1989 No. 109 of 1989 - SECT 998 False trading and market rigging transactions

CORPORATIONS ACT 1989 No. 109 of 1989 - SECT 998

998. (1) A person shall not create, or do anything that is intended or likely
to create, a false or misleading appearance of active trading in any eligible
securities on a stock market or a false or misleading appearance with respect
to the market for, or the price of, any eligible securities.

(2) A corporation shall not create, or do anything that is intended or likely
to create, a false or misleading appearance of active trading in any
securities (not being eligible securities) on a stock market or a false or
misleading appearance with respect to the market for, or the price of, any
such securities.

(3) A person shall not, by means of purchases or sales of any securities that
do not involve a change in the beneficial ownership of those securities or by
any fictitious transactions or devices, maintain, increase, reduce, or cause
fluctuations in, the market price of any eligible securities.

(4) A corporation shall not, by means of purchases or sales of any securities
that do not involve a change in the beneficial ownership of those securities
or by any fictitious transactions or devices, maintain, increase, reduce, or
cause fluctuations in, the market price of any securities not being eligible
securities.

(5) Without limiting the generality of subsections (1) and (2), a person who:

   (a)  enters into, or carries out, either directly or indirectly, any
        transaction of sale or purchase of any securities, being a transaction
        that does not involve any change in the beneficial ownership of the
        securities;

   (b)  offers to sell any securities at a specified price where the person
        has made or proposes to make, or knows that an associate of the person
        has made or proposes to make, an offer to buy the same number, or
        substantially the same number, of securities at a price that is
        substantially the same as the first-mentioned price; or

   (c)  offers to buy any securities at a specified price where the person has
        made or proposes to make, or knows that an associate of the person has
        made or proposes to make, an offer to sell the same number, or
        substantially the same number, of securities at a price that is
        substantially the same as the first-mentioned price; shall be deemed
        to have created a false or misleading appearance of active trading in
        those securities on a stock market.

(6) In a prosecution of a person for a contravention of subsection (1) or (2)
constituted by an act referred to in subsection (5), it is a defence if it is
proved that the purpose or purposes for which the person did the act was not,
or did not include, the purpose of creating a false or misleading appearance
of active trading in securities on a stock market.

(7) A purchase or sale of securities does not involve a change in the
beneficial ownership for the purposes of this section if a person who had an
interest in the securities before the purchase or sale, or an associate of the
person in relation to those securities, has an interest in the securities
after the purchase or sale.

(8) In a prosecution for a contravention of subsection (3) or (4) in relation
to a purchase or sale of securities that did not involve a change in the
beneficial ownership of those securities, it is a defence if it is proved that
the purpose or purposes for which the securities were bought or sold was not,
or did not include, the purpose of creating a false or misleading appearance
with respect to the market for, or the price of, securities.

(9) The reference in paragraph (5) (a) to a transaction of sale or purchase of
securities includes:

   (a)  a reference to the making of an offer to sell or buy securities; and

   (b)  a reference to the making of an invitation, however expressed, that
        expressely or impliedly invites a person to offer to sell or buy
        securities.