The case, Soros v France, followed a judicial investigation into one of Soros’ hedge funds, his Quantum Fund, making nearly $3m in profit from insider knowledge that a group of investors was to make a bid for the French bank. The original investigation was started in 1990 and involved share deals made 22 September and 17 October, 1988.
At the time he was fined €2.2m, later reduced to just under €1m on appeal.
Soros’ argument has always been that the prosecution was unlawful because his conduct could not have been seen as an offence at the time he bought and sold the shares. Soros first complained that “the essential elements of the offence of insider trading had been insufficiently clear at the time of his conviction”.
He further complained that European Union legislation, which was clearer and thus more favourable to him than French law, had not been applied in the proceedings against him.
Soros has one further course of action which is to refer his case to the Grand Chamber of the Court within the next three months.
