Saudi Arabia compensates 20,000 investors for trading losses

Saudi Arabia’s capital market regulator has compensated more than 20,000 investors affected by the market manipulation of eight investors who were convicted in 2023.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) said in a statement on Monday that it has deposited SAR293 million ($78 million) into the accounts of those affected.

The ruling follows the conviction of seven members of the Albanyan family and another investor, who were accused of increasing their stake in two listed investment companies, Al Kathiri Holding and Anaam International, in 2020 and artificially inflating their share prices.

According to the CMA, the family’s stake in Al Kathiri Holding and Anaam International, which own assets across industrial, commercial, logistics and hospitality sectors, increased to 24 percent and 27 percent respectively, well above the 5 percent minimum stake investors must disclose to the exchange.

The investors were then accused of trading stocks in a way that pushed up the share price ahead of a rights issue, when they attempted to sell down their stake.

The eight were ordered to pay a combined SAR306.4 million ($81.5 million). Four of them – Sultan Albanyan, Hind bint Asaker, Abdullah Albanyan and Fahad Albanyan – were also banned from trading independently on the Saudi Exchange for terms ranging between one and five years.

Individual compensation amounts for those affected exceeded SAR6 million in some cases, the CMA said on Tuesday.

Under Article 59 of the Capital Market Law, the CMA has the authority to regulate procedures for compensating persons affected by violations and for transferring recovered illegal gains into a compensation fund.

This is the fourth compensation fund launched in the past 12 months, following the first announced in July 2025.

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