The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) has ordered LSE-listed Afarak Resources COO and shareholder Dr Danko Koncar to pay the base amount of a £40-million fine, as well as a supplementary amount of £10-million that has accrued from noncompliance.
Koncar was fined over his failure to publish a takeover bid for all shares in Afarak or to present a valid reason for noncompliance with the obligation.
On January 21, the FIN-FSA obliged Koncar to launch a public bid for Afarak shares and imposed running conditional fines to enforce the obligations stated in the decision.
The deadline imposed on Koncar to publish a bid lapsed on May 18.
However, the FIN-FSA’s decision to impose the conditional fine is not yet legally valid, since Koncar has appealed the authority’s January 21 decision to the Helsinki Administrative Court.
The FIN-FSA on Tuesday said even if the decision on its imposition is not legally valid, it reflects the importance of public interest, the urgency of fulfilling the main obligation and the severity of Koncar’s alleged misconduct.
The authority previously stated that it considers that Koncar, and entities controlled by him, have acted together with Hino Resources, Finaline Business and Koncar’s spouse to exercise control in Afarak.
“Their combined voting rights in Afarak amount to about 41.56%.”
Afarak, which owns mines in South Africa and Turkey and which produces speciality alloys, said it would not comment on the matter.