Wash Trades are illegal. However, with the use of algorithms,...

Wash Trades are illegal. However, with the use of algorithms, trades that achieve the same result as Wash Trades (i.e., no change to beneficial ownership) are able to take place without intervention by the market regulator. The fact that other brokers are involved when sales by an entity are recycled back and forth between a mix of brokers, before being repurchased by the original selling entity, appears to avoid being regarded as a Wash Trade. However the trading can most definitely result in artificial prices particularly if many of the brokers involved are colluding with their trading. Careful analysis through audits may reveal that all of the buying and selling associated with such trading activity that doesn’t result in changes to ownership, is in effect akin to share price manipulation as defined by the High Court judgement. The reluctance by the regulator to conduct audits and to get to the bottom of dubious trading practices may in effect be sanctioning share price manipulation on a very large scale with implications for the entire market.