VW AG: Bafin imposes administrative fine

On 1 October 2026, Bafin imposed an administrative fine amounting to €1.2 million on VW AG on the grounds that the company had violated the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).

VW AG’s forecast for the 2023 financial year was significantly above market expectations. It should have issued an immediate ad hoc announcement regarding the business performance reflected in this forecast. Instead, the company merely published this inside information in a press release.

Companies such as VW AG that are domiciled in Germany and that issue securities and other financial instruments that are traded on an organised market in Germany are subject to ad hoc disclosure obligations. They are therefore required to publish inside information immediately. Inside information is information of a precise nature which has not been made public, relating directly or indirectly to one or more issuers or to one or more financial instruments, and which, if it were made public, would likely have a significant effect on the prices of those financial instruments or on the price of related derivative financial instruments. This includes significant deviations between financial results and market expectations. The ad hoc disclosure obligation is set down in the MAR.

The requirement to publish inside information immediately and in the legally defined format is important for several reasons: it is intended to prevent insiders from gaining an advantage when trading in securities and other financial instruments due to their privileged access to information. It is also intended to ensure investors are not misled when making their investment decisions.

Failure by a company to publish inside information as soon as possible in the form of an ad hoc disclosure constitutes a breach of the MAR, specifically the first subparagraph of Article 17(1). Bafin may impose administrative fines in such cases. The maximum amount for this fine is €2.5 million or up to 2% of total revenue.