The administrative fine order is final and binding.

Background information: managers’ transactions

Company managers must notify the issuer and BaFin of any transactions in securities or other financial instruments of an issuer conducted on their own account (own account transactions). The notifications must be submitted no later than three business days after the date of the transaction. This obligation also applies to persons who are closely associated with such managers. These can be natural or legal persons. The issuer must then make public the information contained in the notification.

It is important for several reasons that own account transactions be notified and made public without delay. The notification requirement prevents persons subject to it from gaining an advantage due to their privileged access to information. The requirement thus helps to prevent market abuse and insider dealing. This is because the increased transparency makes it more likely that managers or persons closely associated with them will be discovered if they do not disclose their own account transactions or do not disclose them on time. In addition, such notifications provide BaFin with a further opportunity to monitor the capital market.

Managers or persons closely associated with them that fail to notify the issuer and BaFin of an own account transaction or that fail to submit this notification within the prescribed period are in violation of Article 19(1) of the MAR. BaFin may impose an administrative fine for failure to comply with this obligation. This can amount to as much as 500,000 euros in the case of natural persons and as much as 1,000,000 euros in the case of legal persons.