MSN MoneyCentral – France’s stock market regulator has recommended imposing heavy fines on Deutsche Bank and GLG Partners, the leading London-based hedge fund, over their involvement in a 2002 issueof convertible bonds by Alcatel, the French telecommunications equipment group.<\/p>\n
The Autorit\u00c3\u0192\u00c2\u00a9 des March\u00c3\u0192\u00c2\u00a9s Financieres, which has been investigating the case for several years, has issued a report setting out its case. According to people familiar with its contents, it recommends that Deutsche should pay a \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u0161\u00c2\u00ac1.5m fine \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 the largest the AMF can impose \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 while GLG should be fined \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u0161\u00c2\u00ac1m.<\/p>\n
The report concludes that three other hedge funds involved in the investigation \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 Marshall Wace, Ferox and Meditor \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 do not have a case to answer.<\/p>\n
The proposed fines are the latest in a series of investigations by European regulators of behaviour by investment banks and hedge funds in the issue of convertible bonds.<\/p>\n
This year the Financial Services Authority, the UK stock market watchdog, fined GLG and its former star trader, Philippe Jabre, \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a3750,000 (\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u0161\u00c2\u00ac1.12m) each for their involvement in trading around a convertible bond issued by Sumitomo, the Japanese financial group.<\/p>\n