The AMF Enforcement Committee fines two individuals for insider dealing breaches

What Changed

• - The decision reiterates and operationalises the definition of “inside information” under the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR, Regulation (EU) No 596/2014), confirming that information relating to a takeover of a listed issuer is considered precise,
• The Enforcement Committee shows that it will infer possession and use of inside information from a combination of factors (plausible transmission channels, atypical trading patterns, timing around market announcements, and lack of convincing explanat
• The decision confirms that the use of inside information through trading on own account and on the account of closely related persons (spouse, parent) will be treated as separate instances of misuse and can be aggregated in the sanction analysis.
• The Committee explicitly treats recommendations to invest made on the basis of inside information as a distinct form of insider dealing, exposing the recommender to sanctions even if they do not trade themselves.
• The ruling reinforces that relatives and close associates (here, cousins) who act on such recommendations can be sanctioned for insider dealing, even when they are not employees or insiders of the issuer or an investment firm.
• The case illustrates that the AMF will scrutinise trading in the run‑up to corporate events (such as takeovers) by non-professional investors and related parties, indicating heightened expectations for market abuse surveillance to capture such activi

Suggested Considerations

• Review and update MAR market abuse policies to explicitly cover the prohibition on recommending or inducing others to trade on the basis of inside information, including for non-staff related persons.
• Enhance insider dealing surveillance scenarios to capture atypical trading patterns before takeover or M&A announcements, including trading by retail clients and accounts linked to employees’ family members where identifiable.
• Tighten procedures for the management of inside information during corporate transactions (takeovers, mergers, acquisitions), including clear designation of insiders, controlled information flows, and logging of who is aware of pending deals.
• Strengthen controls around potential transmission channels for inside information, including guidance and monitoring for staff who may informally share information with relatives or friends, and explicitly prohibit such behaviour in codes of conduct.
• Provide targeted MAR training to staff, senior management, and high‑risk functions (M&A, corporate finance, strategy, legal, finance) that uses this case as an example of how the AMF infers insider dealing and the consequences for both insiders and relatives.
• Implement or refine post‑event reviews of trading (look-backs) around significant corporate announcements (takeovers, profit warnings, major strategic changes) to identify suspicious trading by clients and employees.

Key Dates

Who is Affected