Suhaily Hasnan^1,2♣, Nor Azlina A. Rahman³, Alfiatul Rohmah Mohamed Hussain¹ and Mazurina Mohd Ali^1
1Faculty of Accountancy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor Branch,
Puncak Alam Campus, Malaysia
²International School, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam
³Jabatan Akauntan Negara Malaysia Negeri Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia

This study examined the effect of corporate governance and ownership structure on illegal insider trading activities in public listed companies in Malaysia. Specifically, this study examined the effect of board independence, audit quality, family ownership, managerial ownership and institutional ownership on illegal insider trading activities in public listed companies in Malaysia. This study used content analysis on the annual reports over a 16-year period from 2000 to 2015 of 112 Malaysian public listed companies. Out of the 112 public listed companies, 22 public listed companies were involved in illegal insider trading activities, whilst the remaining 90 were not. This study showed that audit quality and managerial ownership significantly influence illegal insider trading activities, whilst board independence, family ownership and institutional ownership do not have a significant influence on illegal insider trading activities in public listed companies in Malaysia. These findings may assist the relevant authorities in strengthening enforcement to minimise illegal trading activities in the Malaysian securities market.

Keywords: Corporate Governance, Ownership Structure, Illegal Insider Trading.

^♣Corresponding Author: Suhaily Hasnan, Faculty of Accountancy, Aras 1 & 2 Bangunan FPN Puncak Alam Campus, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor Branch, 40450 Shah Alam Selangor, Malaysia; Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; No. Tel: 6012-5217037