At least 10 people have been ordered to pay SAR 101.7 million ($27.1 million) for committing violations, including insider trading, to make illegal gains in their investment portfolios in Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom’s Appeal Committee for Resolution of Securities Disputes (ACRSD) also sentenced one of the investors to an imprisonment of six months for not adhering to the Capital Market Law (CML), according to a statement on Thursday.

The total amount includes SAR 670,000 in fines and SAR 101 million in averted trading losses resulting from the breaches committed by the respondents, the statement, posted by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), said.

The financial regulator said offenses that result in avoided losses include providing misleading information, making false statements and other unlawful practices that enable the investors to avoid actual or potential losses, influencing the security’s price or encouraging others to make a purchase.

In addition to the fines, ACRSD ordered seven of the investors to pay SAR 50.4 million and another one, a female, to pay SAR 50.5 million to the CMA account. The additional charges are also for the losses the investors avoided after committing violations.

Due to the offenses committed, the ACRSD banned the 10 investors from working in companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange for various periods, ranging from one to six years.

The ACRSD issued the ruling following joint coordination and cooperation between the CMA and relevant authorities, and considering the lawsuit filed by the Public Prosecution.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) seban.scaria@lseg.com