1. Anyone who, directly or indirectly, or through an intermediary, carries out acts of acquisition, transfer, or assignment of a financial instrument, or of cancellation or modification of an order relating to a financial instrument, using privileged information to which they have had reserved access under the terms of paragraph 4, or recommends to a third party the use of such privileged information for any of these acts, shall be punished with imprisonment for six months to six years, a fine of two to five years, or from one to three times the benefit obtained or facilitated or the damages avoided if the resulting amount is higher, and special disqualification from the exercise of the profession or activity for two to five years, provided that any of the following circumstances apply:
a) that, as a consequence of their conduct, they obtain, for themselves or for a third party, a benefit exceeding five hundred thousand euros or cause damage of the same amount;
b) that the value of the financial instruments used exceeds two million euros;
c) that a serious impact on the integrity of the market is caused.
2. The penalty shall be increased by half if any of the following circumstances apply:
1. That the individual habitually engages in the aforementioned insider trading practices.
2. That the profit obtained, the loss avoided, or the harm caused is of considerable significance.
3. The penalties provided for in this article shall be increased by half, as applicable, if the person responsible for the act is an employee of an investment services firm, credit institution, supervisory or regulatory authority, or governing body of regulated markets or trading venues.
4. For the purposes of this article, insider information shall be considered to have restricted access to information if one is a member of the governing, management, or supervisory bodies of the issuer or the emission rights market participant, if one holds shares in the issuer or the emission rights market participant, if one becomes aware of such information in the course of their professional or business activities or in the performance of their duties, or if one obtains such information through criminal activity.
5. The same penalties provided for in this article shall be imposed when the person responsible for the act, without having reserved access to privileged information, obtains it in any way other than those provided for in the previous section and uses it knowing that it is privileged information.