Definition: Insider trading is defined as a malpractice wherein trade of a company's securities is undertaken by people who by virtue of their work have access to the otherwise non public information which can be crucial for making investment decisions.

Description: When insiders, e.g. key employees or executives who have access to the strategic information about the company, use the same for trading in the company's stocks or securities, it is called insider trading and as such is a grave offence against fair trading in the market for the benefit of the common investor.

Insider trading is an unfair practice, wherein the other stock holders are at a great disadvantage due to lack of important insider non-public information. However, in certain cases if the information has been made public, in a way that all concerned investors have access to it, that will not be a case of illegal insider trading.

In Zambia, insider trading is a criminal offence. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zambia will revoke the licences of any individual and / or firm engaging in this immoral and illegal activity.