ESMA Report on Sanctions and Measures for 2024: AMF Imposes …

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recently released its second consolidated report on sanctions and measures, revealing that the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) imposed the highest consolidated amounts for sanctions and administrative settlement agreements in Europe. This report also highlighted an increase in the use of settlements, indicating more rapid and agile action by European authorities.

Published on October 16, 2025, ESMA’s report compiled data from the national competent authorities of the 30 Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA) for 2024. The report indicated that over 970 sanctions and settlement agreements were recorded in 29 EEA Member States under current European financial regulations, totaling over €100 million. Similar to 2023, the highest administrative fines were imposed under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). Additionally, 77 criminal sanctions were imposed in six Member States under the MAR Regulation, amounting to over €72 million.

Within France, the AMF imposed 42 financial penalties and disciplinary sanctions and concluded nine administrative settlement agreements in 2024, totaling €29.4 million. This amount accounted for nearly one-third of the total for the entire EEA. Sanctions and agreements under MAR alone made up 70% of this total, including three administrative settlement agreements amounting to €410,000. Market manipulation (Article 15 MAR) in France represented €19.1 million, almost 65% of the total financial penalties and settlement amounts paid in 2023.

Regarding asset management, the AMF reported nine sanctions or settlements under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive, totaling €1.9 million, including three administrative settlement agreements worth €565,000. Additionally, three sanctions were issued under the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive for €2.1 million, the highest among all Member States under this Directive.

Other sanctions and settlement agreements in France were related to breaches of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive/Regulation (MiFID II – MiFIR), amounting to €4.7 million, which included three administrative settlement agreements. These findings illustrate the AMF’s commitment to enforcing financial regulations and its significant role in imposing sanctions compared to other European countries.