КРИМІНАЛЬНО-ПРАВОВА ВІДПОВІДАЛЬНОСТІ ЗА МАНІПУЛЮВАННЯ НА ЕНЕРГЕТИЧНОМУ РИНКУ

Abstract

This article describes the legislative changes on the amendments to the Criminal Code provisions that establish criminal liability for acts defined as "manipulation on the energy market". In particular, an analysis of bylaws and drafts that provide a definition of mentioned concept was conducted. According to the draft Law on Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Prevention of Abuse in Wholesale Energy Markets, Manipulation in Wholesale Energy Markets, in particular:

1) conclusion of fictitious agreements - agreements regarding the purchase and sale of a wholesale energy product;
2) execution of transactions, provision of orders and/or commissions for execution of transactions with wholesale energy products, as well as execution of any other actions that make it possible to form prices for wholesale energy products at an artificial level;
3) purchase or sale of wholesale energy products before the closing of the trading session with the aim of misleading market participants regarding the prices that have developed at the end of the trading session;
4) carrying out operations on trading platforms based on the prior collusion of market participants regarding the price of a wholesale energy product;
5) knowingly providing unreliable information about the available power generation capacity;
6) disclosure or distribution of information through mass media, including electronic media, or in any other way, which gives or may give false or misleading signals for both demand and supply;
7) other forms of manipulation provided for by the provisions of this draft law.

Taking into account the peculiarities of the functioning and development of the Ukrainian energy market, the examples of manipulations on the electricity market were defined, the legal means to combat them and the effectiveness of their use through the prism of criminal proceedings were outlined.