Financial Insights That Matter
France’s
financial markets authority disclosed that victims of investment scams lost an
average of €29,500 in 2024. The regulator imposed €26.5 million in
sanctions as enforcement efforts reached new heights amid a surge in digital
fraud targeting younger investors.
The
Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) reported that 15% of French citizens
believe they have been victims of financial fraud. The figure jumps to
35% among those under 35 years old. The data underscores how digital natives
have become prime targets for sophisticated online investment schemes
proliferating across social media platforms.
The €29,500
average loss figure reflects the sophisticated nature of modern investment
fraud, particularly schemes targeting younger investors through social media
channels. The AMF emphasized that the substantial financial impact on victims,
combined with the tragic personal consequences, requires urgent action across
the regulatory ecosystem.
Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani
“We
cannot accept such a situation,” AMF President Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani
stated in the regulator’s annual letter to the French President. The authority
has mobilized alongside other competent authorities, setting a goal to make its
actions faster and more effective in financial education, prevention, and
enforcement.
The report does not directly reference CFDs or contracts for difference. However, this market has been losing significance in recent years in France, with the number of active traders (defined as those who made at least one transaction in a year) falling to a four-year low, below 30,000.
Enforcement Actions Reach
Record Intensity
The AMF’s
Commission des sanctions issued 12 sanction decisions in 2024, affecting 60
individuals and entities—the highest number of persons prosecuted in recent
years, compared to 40 in 2023 and 32 in 2022. Of those prosecuted, 46 persons
were ultimately sanctioned, while 14 individuals were exonerated in two insider
trading cases.
Financial
penalties ranged from €10,000 to €7 million, with 45 of the 46 sanctioned
persons receiving monetary fines. The total amount was paid into the French
Treasury, marking a notable year for financial enforcement consistent with
previous years’ intensity.
Beyond
monetary penalties, the regulator imposed disciplinary measures on 12
individuals and entities, including formal warnings, reprimands, and temporary
professional bans ranging from two to five years.
For
comparison, the Cypriot market watchdog CySEC in the same period carried out
over 850 audits and issued €2.76 million in fines.
You may also like: AMF Ombudsman’s 2023 Report Highlights over 60% Surge in Crypto Disputes
Digital Fraud Schemes
Target Young Investors
In her
letter to the President, Barbat-Layani stressed that “France is a great
financial country, one of the most important and respected on these subjects so
essential to the lives of our fellow citizens.” She warned that the
current fraud epidemic represents a genuine societal phenomenon contributing to
the degradation of citizen confidence, with sometimes tragic personal
consequences.
The
regulator’s enforcement actions resulted in 181 fraudulent website addresses
being shut down—117 through court decisions and 64 blocked by operators
following AMF injunctions. The authority also opened 56 new investigations and
completed 47 control procedures during the year.
Social
media platforms have emerged as primary channels for investment fraud, with the
AMF observing multiple concerning trends. Many financial influencers have
developed partnerships with trading platforms, some lacking proper
authorization to provide digital asset services in France, violating the
country’s influencer law from June 2023.
The
regulator highlighted mass scams such as “Immediate Connect,” which
used fake news articles featuring public figures to promote fraudulent
automated trading services on foreign exchange and cryptocurrency markets. The
AMF issued three public warnings and reported approximately 40 websites linked
to this particular scheme.
Consumer Inquiries Surge
as Fraud Proliferates
The
authority’s consumer information service, AMF Épargne Info Service, processed
13,374 requests in 2024, which represents an 11% increase from the previous year.
Of these inquiries, 88% came from individual investors and 61% concerned
unregulated entities. This highlights the scope of unauthorized financial
activities targeting French consumers.
Mediation
requests to the AMF surged 15% compared to 2023, particularly for cases
involving real estate investment trusts (SCPI) and real estate crowdfunding .
The mediator issued 710 recommendation proposals while the backlog of pending
cases doubled to 455 files by year-end.
The
financial authority supervised 695 asset management companies and monitored
collective investment schemes worth €2.158 trillion in assets under management.
It processed 272 visa applications for financial operations and oversaw 14
initial public offerings during the year.
European Financial
Integration Remains Priority
Looking
beyond domestic challenges, Barbat-Layani emphasized France’s role in European
financial development. “The European project of Savings and
Investment Union is the most important project of our generation in financial
matters,” she stated, calling for approximately €1 trillion in
additional annual financing to support Europe’s energy transition, digital
transformation, and defense needs.
The AMF
President highlighted three major priorities for achieving this union:
mobilizing European savings, establishing genuine European supervision of
capital markets, and relaunching securitization markets.
“The
European investor will be, alongside major institutional investors, the key to
the success of the Savings and Investment Union,” Barbat-Layani
noted, emphasizing the convergent interests between individual investors and
the broader economy.
France’s
financial markets authority disclosed that victims of investment scams lost an
average of €29,500 in 2024. The regulator imposed €26.5 million in
sanctions as enforcement efforts reached new heights amid a surge in digital
fraud targeting younger investors.
The
Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) reported that 15% of French citizens
believe they have been victims of financial fraud. The figure jumps to
35% among those under 35 years old. The data underscores how digital natives
have become prime targets for sophisticated online investment schemes
proliferating across social media platforms.
The €29,500
average loss figure reflects the sophisticated nature of modern investment
fraud, particularly schemes targeting younger investors through social media
channels. The AMF emphasized that the substantial financial impact on victims,
combined with the tragic personal consequences, requires urgent action across
the regulatory ecosystem.
Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani
“We
cannot accept such a situation,” AMF President Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani
stated in the regulator’s annual letter to the French President. The authority
has mobilized alongside other competent authorities, setting a goal to make its
actions faster and more effective in financial education, prevention, and
enforcement.
The report does not directly reference CFDs or contracts for difference. However, this market has been losing significance in recent years in France, with the number of active traders (defined as those who made at least one transaction in a year) falling to a four-year low, below 30,000.
Enforcement Actions Reach
Record Intensity
The AMF’s
Commission des sanctions issued 12 sanction decisions in 2024, affecting 60
individuals and entities—the highest number of persons prosecuted in recent
years, compared to 40 in 2023 and 32 in 2022. Of those prosecuted, 46 persons
were ultimately sanctioned, while 14 individuals were exonerated in two insider
trading cases.
Financial
penalties ranged from €10,000 to €7 million, with 45 of the 46 sanctioned
persons receiving monetary fines. The total amount was paid into the French
Treasury, marking a notable year for financial enforcement consistent with
previous years’ intensity.
Beyond
monetary penalties, the regulator imposed disciplinary measures on 12
individuals and entities, including formal warnings, reprimands, and temporary
professional bans ranging from two to five years.
For
comparison, the Cypriot market watchdog CySEC in the same period carried out
over 850 audits and issued €2.76 million in fines.
You may also like: AMF Ombudsman’s 2023 Report Highlights over 60% Surge in Crypto Disputes
Digital Fraud Schemes
Target Young Investors
In her
letter to the President, Barbat-Layani stressed that “France is a great
financial country, one of the most important and respected on these subjects so
essential to the lives of our fellow citizens.” She warned that the
current fraud epidemic represents a genuine societal phenomenon contributing to
the degradation of citizen confidence, with sometimes tragic personal
consequences.
The
regulator’s enforcement actions resulted in 181 fraudulent website addresses
being shut down—117 through court decisions and 64 blocked by operators
following AMF injunctions. The authority also opened 56 new investigations and
completed 47 control procedures during the year.
Social
media platforms have emerged as primary channels for investment fraud, with the
AMF observing multiple concerning trends. Many financial influencers have
developed partnerships with trading platforms, some lacking proper
authorization to provide digital asset services in France, violating the
country’s influencer law from June 2023.
The
regulator highlighted mass scams such as “Immediate Connect,” which
used fake news articles featuring public figures to promote fraudulent
automated trading services on foreign exchange and cryptocurrency markets. The
AMF issued three public warnings and reported approximately 40 websites linked
to this particular scheme.
Consumer Inquiries Surge
as Fraud Proliferates
The
authority’s consumer information service, AMF Épargne Info Service, processed
13,374 requests in 2024, which represents an 11% increase from the previous year.
Of these inquiries, 88% came from individual investors and 61% concerned
unregulated entities. This highlights the scope of unauthorized financial
activities targeting French consumers.
Mediation
requests to the AMF surged 15% compared to 2023, particularly for cases
involving real estate investment trusts (SCPI) and real estate crowdfunding .
The mediator issued 710 recommendation proposals while the backlog of pending
cases doubled to 455 files by year-end.
The
financial authority supervised 695 asset management companies and monitored
collective investment schemes worth €2.158 trillion in assets under management.
It processed 272 visa applications for financial operations and oversaw 14
initial public offerings during the year.
European Financial
Integration Remains Priority
Looking
beyond domestic challenges, Barbat-Layani emphasized France’s role in European
financial development. “The European project of Savings and
Investment Union is the most important project of our generation in financial
matters,” she stated, calling for approximately €1 trillion in
additional annual financing to support Europe’s energy transition, digital
transformation, and defense needs.
The AMF
President highlighted three major priorities for achieving this union:
mobilizing European savings, establishing genuine European supervision of
capital markets, and relaunching securitization markets.
“The
European investor will be, alongside major institutional investors, the key to
the success of the Savings and Investment Union,” Barbat-Layani
noted, emphasizing the convergent interests between individual investors and
the broader economy.
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