AMF Enforcement Committee fines Biosynex, its CEO and several of its directors a total of €930,000
Executive Summary
The AMF Enforcement Committee fined Biosynex and four directors (plus their holding companies) a total of €930,000 on 25 July 2024 for breaches including selective disclosure of inside information via a CEO interview, insider trading by selling shares on non-public knowledge of a treasury share sale, and failures to report share transactions to the AMF. This matters as it reinforces AMF's strict enforcement of MAR (Market Abuse Regulation) rules on information dissemination, insider dealing, and PDMR reporting, serving as a precedent for listed companies and executives during high-volatility periods like COVID-19. Appeals by some parties were dismissed as inadmissible by the Paris Court of Appeal on 9 January 2025. #
What Changed
This is an enforcement decision, not a regulatory change; it applies existing requirements under EU MAR (Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transposed in France) and AMF rules: - Selective disclosure: Issuers must ensure "full and effective" public dissemination of inside information via press releases before any selective sharing (e.g., interviews); partial disclosure to a "restricted audience" (like journalists) without prior release violates this. - Insider trading: Prohibits trading (including selling) by insiders possessing inside information, such as unreleased plans to sell treasury shares, which could impact share price. - Reporting obligations: Directors and holding companies must report transactions in issuer shares to AMF within 3 business days under Article 19 MAR; repeated failures
What You Need To Do
- Implement pre-approval for executive media interactions
- Enhance insider lists and trading controls
- Automate transaction reporting
- Conduct MAR training refreshers
- Audit past disclosures
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Urgency: Medium - Not a new rule but a high-profile enforcement (€930k total: Biosynex €50k; CEO/holding €460k; others €70k-€230k each) highlighting personal liability for executives, with appeals failing. Matters for listed firms as it stresses "full/effective" dissemination and rejects operational excuses, increasing MAR fine risks amid ongoing AMF scrutiny of market abuse (e.g., similar 2025 as
Who is Affected
Summary
Sanctions & settlements Disclosure Obligations Journalists AMF Enforcement Committee fines Biosynex, its CEO and several of its directors a total of €930,000