Detecting and deterring illegal insider trading has become a top priority for the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the Quebec securities regulator said Wednesday, as it outlined its recent enforcement performance.

Illegal distributions remain the most common issue for regulators in Quebec, according to the AMF. In 2015, it brought 19 new cases involving illegal distributions, and completed 38 cases in this area. The AMF also brought six new cases, and closed another eight cases, involving market manipulation and illegal insider trading.

“The AMF has made deterring illegal insider trading a top priority. This is a serious offence that has a profound impact on market integrity,” says Jean-François Fortin, executive director, enforcement, at the AMF, in a statement.

The AMF brought 51 cases before either the Court of Québec or the Bureau de décision et de révision during the year, resulting in a total of 632 charges for alleged offences under securities and derivatives laws; 101 charges involving allegations under its financial distribution laws; and 19 charges under the legislation governing money services businesses, which the AMF also regulates.

Overall, the 141 individuals and firms were sanctioned for various offences in 2015, the AMF reports, and more than $8.7 million in total fines, penalties and other sanctions were ordered as a result.

Of the total, just under $5.7 million involved offences under securities or derivatives laws, and almost $900,000 in sanctions was ordered by the Bureau for offences under these laws; $1.15 million related to offences under the financial distribution laws; and another $885,000 in administrative penalties was imposed by the AMF.

In addition to the sanctions, the AMF also obtained 13 freeze orders involving approximately $5.4 million, and 16 orders to cease regulated activities, such as a cease trading order (CTO).

“We are more determined than ever to ensure that those who violate the laws we administer are sanctioned. They significantly erode the confidence that is fundamental to effective market operations, and their behaviour cannot be tolerated,” adds Louis Morisset, AMF president and CEO.