Verstoß gegen Ad-hoc-Pflicht: Aufseher brummen Volkswagen Millionenstrafe auf

The German financial watchdog fined Volkswagen millions for violating disclosure obligations. The company is required to pay €1.2 million, the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (Bafin) announced. The watchdog cited Volkswagen's presentation of its outlook for the business year on March 3, 2023. According to the Bafin, the outlook significantly exceeded market expectations.

The business development reflected in the outlook should have been communicated to market participants "ad hoc" - that is, in a particularly conspicuous manner - immediately. Instead, the company only published the insider information in a press release. Volkswagen accepted the fine, according to a spokesperson for the company. The agreement ending the proceedings was the result of negotiations between Volkswagen AG and Bafin, a spokesperson for the corporation said.

Despite the agreement, the company maintains its view that it complied with its disclosure obligations and that all market participants were sufficiently informed through the press release. What the ad-hoc disclosure requirement entails, listed companies in Germany are subject to what is known as the ad-hoc public disclosure obligation.

This means that non-public insider information that can significantly influence share prices must be published immediately ("ad hoc"). This includes, according to the Bafin, a significant deviation of the business figures from market expectations. The ad-hoc public disclosure requirement is part of the Market Abuse Regulation. If a company violates it, the Bafin can impose a fine of up to €2.5 million or up to two percent of the company's turnover.

The fine against Volkswagen was already set on October 1. The optimistic outlook from the VW management surprised investors at the time during the ongoing trading on the stock exchange: The DAX-listed stock of the Wolfsburg-based company jumped more than ten percent that day.