Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway imposes NOK 300,000 penalty for repeated NEXT Biometrics shareholding threshold disclosure breaches

The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway has found that an investor breached the shareholding disclosure rules under chapter 4 of the Securities Trading Act in relation to NEXT Biometrics Group ASA and has imposed an administrative penalty of NOK 300,000. The case covers three unreported crossings of the 10 percent and 15 percent disclosure thresholds and one incorrect market notification about the investor's stake. According to the decision, the investor's consolidated holding in NEXT reached 10.01 percent on 24 March 2023, 15.03 percent on 19 January 2026, and then fell to 13.88 percent on 11 March 2026, each of which triggered a disclosure obligation that was not met. The authority also found that a notification sent on 15 October 2025 wrongly stated that the investor had crossed the 10 percent threshold at 10.31 percent after a private placement allocation. It said the calculation should have used the post-issuance share count and fully included holdings held through controlled entities, under which the investor's consolidated holding was 12.50 percent and had already been above 10 percent. In setting the penalty, the authority said investors active in the Norwegian securities market are expected to understand the consolidation rules and considered the breaches negligent, noting that the 15 percent threshold crossing on 11 March 2026 was still not disclosed after its earlier inquiry. The decision may be appealed within three weeks of receipt.