The AMF Enforcement Committee fines an issuer €20,000 and its shareholders a total of €1.7 million
Executive Summary
The AMF Enforcement Committee imposed fines totaling €1.72 million on 10 June 2025 against SMCP (an issuer) and its major shareholders European TopSoho, Dynamic Treasure Group, and Ms. Chenran Qiu for breaches including failure to report threshold crossings in shareholdings, disseminating false or misleading information constituting market manipulation, and SMCP's lapse in maintaining inside information confidentiality. This decision underscores AMF's rigorous enforcement of **Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)** obligations on issuers and shareholders, serving as a deterrent against opaque share transactions and premature disclosures that undermine market integrity. Compliance teams should prioritize robust monitoring of ownership changes and information controls to avoid similar sanctions, which can reach seven figures for individuals and entities. #
What Changed
This is an enforcement decision, not a regulatory change introducing new rules; it reinforces existing obligations under French financial markets law and MAR: - Shareholder reporting thresholds: Mandatory notification to AMF and issuers for crossing above or below capital/voting rights thresholds, plus six-month plans. - Prohibition on false/misleading information: Press releases denying control over entities when factual arrangements prove otherwise qualify as market manipulation. - Inside information confidentiality: Issuers must prevent premature public access to sensitive releases, even unintentionally. No new requirements were enacted; the decision clarifies application to complex cross-entity share transfers involving trusts. #
What You Need To Do
- Shareholders
Key Dates
Compliance Impact
Urgency: Medium - Matters due to substantial fines (€1.72M total, including €1M personal), personal liability for controllers, and appeal pending, signaling ongoing risk. Not critical as it's backward-looking enforcement (events 2016-2021), but elevates priority for listed firms handling ownership changes or inside info, amid AMF's pattern of MAR sanctions (e.g., Parrot case, €420K for similar man
Who is Affected
Summary
Sanctions & settlements MAR Journalists Listed companies and issuers The AMF Enforcement Committee fines an issuer €20,000 and its shareholders a total of €1.7 million