France's Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) published an update on a 9 April 2026 Paris Criminal Court decision convicting an individual for obstructing an AMF home visit conducted as part of a suspected market abuse investigation. The court imposed a six-month suspended prison sentence and a EUR 20,000 fine, reiterating that obstructing an AMF control or investigation is a criminal offence. The visit had been authorised by the liberty and detention judge, and took place in July 2023 when AMF investigators, accompanied by a judicial police officer, attended the individual’s home and were initially refused access before entry was ultimately granted. The court also admitted the AMF’s civil party claim and ordered the individual to pay the AMF EUR 1 for non-pecuniary harm and EUR 5,000 in legal costs; the proceedings followed a report to the Paris Public Prosecutor in May 2024 and an AMF complaint in September 2024. Related appeals against the authorisation order and the search and seizure operations were rejected by the Paris Court of Appeal in July 2024 and May 2025 respectively, with EUR 5,000 costs awarded to the AMF in each case, and the AMF noted that the Monetary and Financial Code provides for penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment and a EUR 300,000 fine for obstruction, including providing inaccurate information.
France Autorite des marches financiers 2026-04-10
France's Autorité des marchés financiers reports Paris Criminal Court conviction for obstructing an AMF investigation with a six-month suspended sentence and EUR 20,000 fine
France’s Autorité des marchés financiers reported that the Paris Criminal Court convicted an individual for obstructing an AMF home visit in a suspected market abuse investigation, imposing a six‑month suspended prison sentence and a EUR 20,000 fine. The court upheld the AMF’s civil party claim, awarded it EUR 1 for non‑pecuniary harm and EUR 5,000 in legal costs, and the AMF noted that obstruction of its investigations is a criminal offence punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment and a EUR 300,000 fine under the Monetary and Financial Code.