The industry has also been clamping down on universities, asking them to warn students who use computers on campus of their criminal liability if they download music, and to wipe out illegally stored files.

ECONOMIST: How to pay the piper

He said under the Coroner's Act the coroner could only express an opinion over the circumstances of the death and that any verdict should not appear to determine criminal liability on the part of a named person.

BBC: Becky Godden farmland grave: Narrative verdict recorded

But if a better balance can be struck between, on the one hand, financial losses imposed on shareholders and, on the other, criminal penalties imposed on individual malefactors, the corporate-liability regime would serve society more effectively.

ECONOMIST: Hunting corporate criminals

The regulator said the criminal liability would depend on whether a sponsor "knowingly or recklessly" submitted a document containing false or misleading facts, or left out information that may influence the decision of investors.

BBC: Trading floor at Hong Kong Stock Exchange