June 07, 2008	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 02, 1429

ISLAMABAD, June 6: A team of Securities and Exchange Commission of United States completed a three-day training of their Pakistani counterparts here on Friday on how to conduct investigation and prosecution of securities fraud.

The training programme was organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) under the Pakistan securities market enforcement programme in its headquarters.

The programme has been designed to provide participants an opportunity to understand key elements of an effective enforcement programme, which ensures protection to investors, preserves the integrity of the securities markets and provide for adequate investigatory authority; offering possible remedies with respect to insider trading, market manipulation and financial fraud.

The contents of the programme also focused on investigative techniques and the role of international cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of securities fraud, an official announcement said.

The training sessions were conducted by US commission team comprising Mr. Z. Scott Birdwell, Mr. Kurt Gresenz and Ms Erin McCartney, who have been involved in handling enforcement cases pertaining to securities laws for the past many years.

The relevance of the programme and the quality of the trainers assured attendance of a large number of participants from the SECP across the country and the three stock exchanges. Later Mr. Z. Scott Birdwell distributed certificates among the participants.

SECP Chairman Razi-ur-Rehman Khan in his speech made at the concluding session emphasised on the importance of knowledge sharing and adoption of international best practices. He thanked the US team for conducting the useful programme and distributed shields among the participants.