MOSCOW, August 22 - RAPSI. Law enforcement authorities have initiated Russia's first-ever stock market price manipulation case in the aftermath of a federal investigation into a Tatar company's ordinary share trade on the Moscow Stock Exchange, according to Russia's Federal Service for Financial Markets.

Tatbento, the subject of the investigation, is a Tatar company involved in the production of clay and kaolin, constructing prefabricated buildings, and manufacturing ceramic tiles and bricks.

Regulator reported that several individuals, including the company's clients and its founder, manipulated ordinary share prices between September and December 2010.

"The price of ordinary shares increased by 50 percent," the federal service said. "An examination was held after a bid participant made a statement (in this regard), and regulator discovered signs of manipulation through its monitoring system."

The federal law on combating the unlawful use of insider market information and manipulation came into effect on January 27, 2011.

Between late 2011 and early 2012, regulator established criteria for detecting market deviations and began monitoring unusual transactions on the stock market.