Re Help..Quote taken from Sec filing.I have been in the junior stock market for 50 years. The juniors are the quickest way for someone (the insiders)to get rich and the system supports the manipulation of the stock price and the cheap issuance of founders shares and the initial issuance of insider options and warrants followed each year by the sale of the hyped share price followed by the annual issuance of options and warrants with expiry dates of as long as ten years.
I believe they are allowed to short the stock when they want and they don't have to declare the short as an insider transaction. However when they go to cover the short, it is then that they sell some of their common stock and that is when they have to declare the transaction as an insider sale.
THis is systemic within the rules of the stock exchange and is so self-serving that it is a slap in the face to the little guy who thinks incorrectly that he is operating on a level playing field.
For an explanation of how the brokers also screw their own customers, read Michael Lewis' "Flash Boys" or googje John Stewart and "stock market dark pools" for an explanation of what happens once a retail customer places a buy or sell order. He also explains how Robinhood in the US can afford to offer commission free (oxymoron) trades.