• GE BaFin imposed a fine of €600,000 on The Healing Company Inc on 15 March, 2023.
• The Healing Company Inc violated obligations of section 33(1) of German securities trading act (WpHG) by not submitting substantial shareholding notifications in a timely manner.

Violations

• Shareholders must notify the issuer and BaFin within 4 trading days if voting rights reach certain thresholds; a substantial shareholding disclosure form must be used for voting rights notification.
• This is regulated in section 12 (1) of Securities trading notification ordinance (WpAV).
• Not reporting substantial shareholding violates section 33 (1) sentence 1 of WpHG.
• GE BaFin can punish this with a fine, and for legal entities, this amounts to a maximum fine of up to €10mn or up to 5% of the total turnover.
• Obligation to notify voting rights serves to ensure transparency of the capital market.
• Intended to increase attractiveness of Germany as a financial center in international competition and strengthen investor confidence in the functioning of the stock market