On 12 July 2012 the District Court of Rotterdam reversed two administrative fines levied by the AFM. The first concerned a fine of EUR 100,000 the AFM levied in March 2011 on the CEO of Schuitema for violating the prohibition on tipping. The AFM had claimed that the CEO shared inside information at a congress of C1000 entrepreneurs about a possible bid for Super de Boer. The other fine, of EUR 114,000, was levied on a C1000 entrepreneur who issued instructions to buy Super de Boer shares shortly after the CEO's speech (see also the RCE Newsletter April 2011). The District Court of Rotterdam ruled that the CEO, although skirting on the edge of the prohibition on disclosure, could not be said to have shared concrete information with respect to his inside information during the meeting. The CEO made only vague innuendos which could have been interpreted differently. Consequently, the C1000 entrepreneur, who after the talk given by the CEO placed an order to buy Super de Boer shares, did not make use of inside information in the transaction he carried out.
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