The Sanctions Commission of the Financial Markets Authority imposed a record fine of 93 million euros on Tuesday on the asset management company H2O and its two founders for violation of the rules for the protection of the interests of investors.
The fine amounts to 75 million euros for H2O, to which are added 15 million euros for Bruno Crastes and 3 million euros for Vincent Chailley, in accordance with the requisitions taken during a public session at the end of November. The commission underlined “the damage suffered by investors resulting in particular from the blocking of their savings” and “the seriousness of the breaches”.
Bruno Crastes, managing director at the time of the events, was also banned from exercising the activity of manager for 5 years, while H2O and Vincent Chailley, then director of investments, received a reprimand.
Funds invested in Tennor private debt
The Sanctions Committee upheld all the grievances alleged against H2O in the context of its investments in financial securities of the Tennor group, linked to the controversial German businessman Lars Windhorst. For more than three years, until the suspension of the relevant funds from H20 in August 2020, the company acquired securities corresponding to Tennor private debt for 2.25 billion euros.
The AMF notably pointed to “the lack of liquidity” of these instruments, the fact that they “did not fall within the framework of the investment policy set by the fund prospectuses” and the fact that H2O did not have ” sufficient information” to invest “reliably”.
H2O announced on Tuesday, before the publication of the sanction, that it would reimburse “in the coming days” a first part of the blocked funds. These had been subscribed by thousands of savers, mainly French.
“H2O lied to us”
A total of 1.6 billion euros have been frozen for more than two years, according to Gérard Maurin, president of the association Collectif Porteurs H2O, whose 2,300 members have placed a total of 70 million euros in funds currently frozen. . “H2O lied to us by declaring that Tennor assets represented only 2% of the portfolios, when in the end their share rose to 35% on certain funds”, accuses this finance professional.
The association of H2O carriers claims to have the intention of taking the financial company to court in early 2023, “either the commercial court or the district court”, specifies Gérard Maurin. “For the moment, we have seized the commercial court to better understand the damage and an expertise has been granted to us”, he continues. He wants to seek compensation for more than the 70 million euros blocked due to “the shortfall over the years: the markets have recovered after the Covid, inflation has been there and money blocked for two years , it is harmful. »