Strafrechtliche Sanktionen bei Verstössen gegen die Prospektpflicht bei öffentlichen Wertpapierangeboten – eine Analyse des Art. 13 Abs. 1 EWR-WPPDG

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Type and Duration

FFF-Förderprojekt, July 2023 until December 2023

Coordinator

Economic Criminal Law, Compliance and Digitalization

Main Research

Business Law

Description

The securities market accounts for a significant share of the economic performance in the Principality of Liechtenstein. The prospectus publicity for public offers of securities obligates providers to inform investors completely and correctly about the securities offered. In order to safeguard prospectus publicity, the Liechtenstein legislator standardizes, among other things, the penal norms of Article 13 (1) EEA WPPDG. They penalize certain violations of prospectus publicty that are likely to impair the functioning of the securities market and the investors' assets. In this respect, they offer protection against erroneous prospectus information, because this not only harms investors, but above all can also shake the functioning of the securities market, because unsettled investors stay away. Article 13 (1) EEA WPPDG is thus of importance for the entire national economy in the Principality of Liechtenstein in that it is intended to ensure error-free information on public offerings of securities, which in turn is a prerequisite for a functioning securities market. The in-depth analysis of these penal provisions is the subject of this research project.

Practical Application

The research project is intended to contribute to research in the field of capital market criminal law in the Principality of Liechtenstein and to make the complex criminal provisions of Article 13 (1) EEA WPPDG transparent for practitioners. On the one hand, the knowledge gained is intended to strengthen the feeling of legal certainty for norm addressees (issuers, financial intermediaries, investors), on the other hand, to promote confidence in Liechtenstein as a financial center and, finally, to provide a stimulus for further research in the area of capital market criminal law.

Reference to Liechtenstein

The research project has considerable relevance for the securities market in the Principality of Liechtenstein. The penal provisions to be investigated are intended to safeguard compliance with prospectus publicity as a central instrument for regulating public securities offerings. According to the FMA, public offerings of securities are of increasing relevance for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Principality of Liechtenstein. The high number of prospectus approvals illustrates the relevance of prospectus publicity and the preventive effect and enforcement power of the penal provisions of Article 13 (1) EEA WPPDG. As a combined set of rules, they ensure correct and comprehensive information on public securities in order to promote investor confidence in the seriousness and integrity of the securities market in the Principality of Liechtenstein and to ensure its functioning. There is currently no research project on this subject in the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Project Manager

Prof. Dr. Konstantina Papathanasiou, LL.M.

Project Collaborator

Dr. iur. Peter Pfisterer