Ever since I attended a course during my Master’s studies in 2008 at the University of Copenhagen, I have been fascinated by the concept of market manipulation – the subject of this book. In that course the teacher explained in a simple and understandable manner the essence of the ban on market manipulation and why such a ban was necessary in organized trading, such as on stock exchanges. It inspired me to work with the subject within the field of capital market law for the past nine years, first as a topic of my Master’s thesis, then in my work for the Financial Supervisory Authority of Iceland and the Special Prosecutor’s Office, and finally as the topic of my Ph.D. thesis, which has now been transformed into a book.
I was so fortunate to conduct research and write for the past three years under the excellent guidance and supervision of the same teacher who inspired me in the first place to work the subject – Professor Jesper Lau Hansen. His advice, insights and critique have been invaluable to the development of my thesis and now this book and for me as an academic. I also want to thank those who helped me in this process in one way or another, especially assistant prosecutor, Kjartan Òlafsson, for his review and useful comments.
Finally, I want to give thanks to my wife, Heiðrún Sigurjónsdóttir, for her endless support and patience during this whole process, which included moving and living in a different country with our two wonderful sons.