A bill designed to protect the capital market from the abuse of privileged information and from share manipulation, and bringing Greece in line with EU regulations, was unveiled by the government yesterday.

Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis said the draft law would help create a more modern capital market by introducing precautionary measures which would provide investors with correct information.

A key element of the bill is the requirement for brokerages to inform the exchange's Capital Market Commission if they suspect clients are using privileged information or manipulating the market. The draft law, therefore, effectively expands the definition of insider trading to include «privileged» and not just «confidential» information.

Lists of people with access to this type of information would have to be compiled and sent to stock market authorities under the proposed law. Those found guilty of profiting to the tune of over 300,000 euros from insider trading or share manipulation could face criminal charges.