Insider trading sounds glamorous in movies, but in real life it is one of the quickest ways for directors and employees to ruin their careers. The basic rule: if you have unpublished price-sensitive information about a listed company – like results, mergers, big contracts, regulatory actions – you cannot trade its securities or tip others to trade until that information is made public.

Compliance programmes usually include:

• Trading windows (open and closed periods),
  
• Pre-clearance for designated persons,
  
• Mandatory disclosures of trades,
  
• Strict rules on sharing confidential information even within the company.
  

Even casual tips – “results are going to be very strong, buy quickly” – on a family WhatsApp group can land people in trouble if regulators trace patterns around sensitive events. It is not necessary that a formal NDA be violated; the law cares about unfair advantage.

For most employees, the safest policy is:

• Don’t trade around major events if you know something extra,
  
• Don’t ask insiders for “inside info”,
  
• Treat all internal financials like secrets until officially released.
  

Companies that take insider trading lightly may face heavy penalties, reputational damage, and in serious cases even criminal proceedings for individuals.