Strong enforcement builds trust—and trust is the foundation of well-functioning markets.

The enforcement committee of the FSMA is expected to rule on the Nyrstar case shortly. It is high time, as it has been more than six years since Trafigura acquired Nyrstar's assets as part of an allegedly fraudulent restructuring.

This decision will attract a great deal of interest. It was preceded by a very thorough investigation. For example, the chairman of the FSMA, Jean-Paul Servais, accompanied by vice-chairman Annemie Rombouts, stated last January during a hearing before the Finance and Budget Committee of the Chamber of Representatives that two years ago, the FSMA auditor, based on no fewer than 500 questions and 12,000 pages of documents, had submitted two voluminous reports, with allegations of market manipulation and possible criminal offenses, to both the FSMA Enforcement Committee and the Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office. Pending their decision, the civil proceedings initiated by Nyrstar Collective are suspended.

Whatever the decision may be, this whole affair highlights an important sensitive issue: the FSMA's mandate is currently insufficient to enable it to act quickly and effectively. While these meticulously prepared reports have been the subject of years of legal battles fought by an army of lawyers and advisors before they will have impact, the new owner, Trafigura, had ample time to fully integrate the new Nyrstar into its organization, take advantage of the synergies that come with it, and erase as many traces of past misconduct as possible. Moreover, it has now become almost impossible to reverse the controversial restructuring operationally.

The fact that this is also recognized by the FSMA itself is evident from a second video that will be released shortly, in which the FSMA makes a number of very interesting proposals to enable it to fulfill its role more effectively and efficiently.

To be continued...

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automated translation by DeepL