Topic Information obligations for issuers Market manipulation as an administrative offence
Article from Issuer Guidelines published by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority
If the responsible person has acted recklessly, this act of manipulation constitutes an administrative offence. For the assumption of recklessness, it is sufficient to establish that somebody acted extremely carelessly and ignored what they should have known, based on their skills and knowledge. It is not relevant whether or not the merely reckless infringement resulted in an actual influence on prices. There may be market manipulation in the form of an administrative offence in particular if the manipulator’s intent does not relate to all elements of the offence. For example, an administrative offence can be considered if the person committing the offence intentionally commits a manipulative act, but the intent does not extend to influencing the stock exchange price (section 120 (15) of the WpHG).
BaFin punishes market manipulation classified as an administrative offence by imposing a fine. The amount of the fine depends on the nature of the market manipulation committed and, for example for individuals, can amount to a maximum of €5,000,000, or a maximum of €15,000,000 or 15 per cent of total revenue for legal persons. Additionally, the administrative offence is punishable by a fine of up to three times the economic benefit derived from the infringement.
