In effect since July of 2016, the European Market Abuse Regulations (MAR) are EU regulations designed to prevent insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of insider information and market manipulation. The regime was “onshored” into UK law as the UK Market Abuse Regulation (UK MAR), which contains equivalent prohibitions and requirements on market abuse.
Regulatory priorities in the UK and across Europe demonstrate that MAR is hardly old news, remaining a consistent focus since its inception. And regulatory enforcement shows that even close to a decade in, firms are still struggling to stay compliant with MAR regulations and the flow of insider information across their organizations.
Issuers and any person acting on their behalf or on their account, shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that any person on the insider list acknowledges in writing the legal and regulatory duties entailed and is aware of the sanctions applicable to insider dealing and unlawful disclosure of inside information.
—Article 18 of the Market Abuse Regulation
What Qualifies as Insider Information Under MAR?
Article 7(1)(a) of MAR defines insider information as information of a precise nature that has not been made public, relates directly or indirectly to an issuer or financial instruments, and would be likely to have a significant effect on prices if made public.
What are Some Examples of Insider Information?
Examples of insider information include:
- Company intention to launch a take-over bid, auction, public offering, private placement, stock repurchase, consolidation, or split
- Resignation of senior executives
- Purchase or sale of an important asset or business
- Earnings release that is inconsistent with expectations
- Any significant legal or regulatory proceeding or settlement
What are Insider List Requirements Under MAR?
Firms must be able to identify when information becomes inside information, determine who has access to it, and maintain insider lists that are accurate, complete, and available to regulators upon request, including:
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Recording when individuals gain and lose access to insider information
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Maintaining audit trails for changes to insider lists
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Ensuring lists can be produced promptly to regulators such as the FCA and ESMA
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Supporting surveillance and controls to detect potential misuse
Technology plays a central role in embedding these controls within business processes and reducing reliance on manual tracking.
How will the EU Listing Act Change MAR in 2026?
In December 2024, the EU adopted the Listing Act package, which includes significant amendments to MAR aimed at reducing administrative burden for issuers while maintaining market integrity.
The Listing Act entered into force on 4 December 2024, with key MAR provisions set to apply from 5 June 2026. Major changes include:
- Elimination of the requirement to disclose intermediate steps in protracted processes - only "final events" must be disclosed;
- Replacement of the "not likely to mislead the public" condition for delayed disclosure with a more specific test requiring that inside information not contradict the issuer's latest public announcement;
- Increase of the Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities (PDMR) transaction notification threshold from €5,000 to €20,000;
- Expansion of exemptions from trading prohibitions during closed periods; and
- Clarification that market sounding procedures under Article 11 are optional rather than mandatory.
Following the Act's adoption, ESMA launched a consultation in April 2025 on implementing technical standards for simplified insider list formats, addressing the extension of the alleviated format for insider lists to reduce administrative burden while maintaining effective tracking of individuals with access to inside information.
In May 2025, ESMA published its Final Report containing technical advice to the European Commission on the MAR amendments under the Listing Act, providing detailed guidance on determining what constitutes "final events" in protracted processes (notably excluding takeovers based on stakeholder feedback) and clarifying circumstances when delayed disclosure would contradict previous public announcements. For issuers with two-tier board structures, ESMA specified that the moment of disclosure refers to decisions taken by the relevant decision-making body.
The European Commission is required to adopt delegated acts based on this technical advice by July 2026.]
FCA Strategic Priorities Regarding UK MAR
The FCA's 2025-2030 strategy, unveiled in March 2025, identifies fighting crime as one of four core priorities. Market abuse and insider trading enforcement remain central to this strategy, with the FCA emphasizing enhanced scrutiny of firms' systems and controls for preventing and detecting financial crime, particularly focusing on insider information controls and surveillance systems.
In January 2026, the FCA launched its first Enforcement Watch newsletter, revealing that between 3 June and 31 December 2025, the regulator opened 23 enforcement operations, 18 of which involve alleged regulatory breaches. The newsletter emphasizes that market abuse surveillance is intensifying, with heightened scrutiny of suspicious trading, insider information controls, and surveillance systems. The FCA's updated publicity policy, announced in June 2025, is now being applied "in action," signaling greater transparency in enforcement proceedings.
Examples of FCA MAR Enforcement in the UK
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In November 2025, the FCA brought criminal charges against two individuals for insider dealing. This action reflects a broader trend, with FCA Head of Enforcement Therese Chambers noting in late 2025 that the regulator is pursuing more criminal prosecutions than ever before.
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In January of 2025, a former analyst at a global bank was fined £586,711 under a confiscation order from the FCA, following his conviction for insider dealing and fraud in February 2024. At sentencing in February 2024, the judge noted "You were under no illusion as to the importance of confidentiality. You betrayed that trust and cheated honest traders. This strikes at the very heart of financial markets and the trust the public places in them." The analyst was sentenced to 22 months in prison.
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In October of 2024, the FCA commenced a prosecution against two brothers for insider dealing. One brother disclosed insider information that he was privy to and the other traded on that information. The alleged misconduct took place between 2016 and 2020 and the pair made a profit of around £110,000. The pair pled guilty in May of 2025 and were sentenced in September of 2025, receiving prison time, unpaid work requirements and license suspension. The pair were also required to pay back more than £280,000 – reflecting the full value of the shares traded through their criminal conduct, not just the profit they made.
Reduce the Burden of MAR and Effectively Manage Insider Lists with MCO
Especially when several departments and multiple employees come into contact with privileged information, developing insider lists and ensuring they are up to date can be a moving target as deals move through the pipeline or releases are prepared. MCO's insider list and MNPI management compliance solution enables firms to easily track who is privy to insider information and how long individuals and access should be tracked and provides control of roles and rights assignments. Compliance teams can deliver insider lists to regulators at a moment’s notice, with a robust audit trail tracking when lists were created and who had access to specific pieces of information.
Take a Holistic Approach to Managing MAR Compliance with MyComplianceOffice
The MyComplianceOffice platform enables firms to move past multiple siloed systems and manage insider information and employee trading activity on a single platform:
- Personal trade management to detect if this information has been abused by looking at employee trading activity and the trading activity of related persons
- Trade surveillance to detect if this information has been abused by looking at the trading activity of the firm
Plus, managing these capabilities on one platform drives efficiency, accuracy and standardization across the firm and your compliance program and provides a defensible audit trail for regulators and the board.
Set up a demo to see how we help firms reduce the risk of market abuse by effectively and efficiently managing Employee Personal Trading, Insider Information and Insider List Management across the firm.
This post was written by Keith Pyke, Director of Solution Sales at MCO. This post was originally written on June 16, 2019 and updated on February 9, 2026.
