Deutsche Boerse agrees to pay 10.5m euros fine

Deutsche Boerse said Wednesday it is willing to pay German authorities fines totalling 10.5 million euros in an effort to settle a probe of its boss Carsten Kengeter, who is suspected of insider trading.

The Frankfurt exchange operator’s management and supervisory boards agreed to accept a proposal made by prosecutors over the allegations, according to a statement.

Deutsche Boerse is ready to pay fines of 5 and 5.5 million ($5.9-$6.5 million) euros over alleged insider trading and failure to inform the public. The inquiry centres on a financial operation carried out by Kengeter on December 14, 2015, consisting of the purchase of shares worth about 4.5 million euros in the Deutsche Boerse group.

Two months later, in February 2016, Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange unveiled their merger plans, an announcement which sent their share prices shooting upwards.

He is suspected of having discussed the merger plan with LSE management from the summer of 2015, and then having bought the shares with that information in mind.

Deutsche Boerse has always denied that its chief committed any wrongdoing and repeated those denials on Wednesday. In its statement the firm said it agreed to pay the fines “in order to protect the best interests of the company”. (AFP)