Retrospective 2023: several remarkable successes in the legal proceedings initiated by the Association Collectif Porteurs H2O

In 2023, we chose to remain silent regarding the progress of the legal proceedings launched by the Association Collectif Porteurs H2O and its members (the “Members”) against the portfolio management companies H2O AM LLP and H2O AM Europe SAS (together “H2O AM”). The year 2023 was nonetheless crowned with several legal victories before the French courts and the filing of a summons on the merits before the Paris commercial court in December.

H2O AM, obviously worried about its setbacks and the legal merits of the requests for compensation made by the Members, endeavored to minimize our remarkable successes in a communication on its website dated December 22.

The legal decisions concerning H2O can be summarized as follows:

1. In the first days of 2023, the historic decision rendered by the Enforcement Committee of the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) dated December 30, 2022 against H2O AM LLP, Bruno Crastes and Vincent Chailley fully confirmed the nature and seriousness of the regulatory breaches that the Collective had argued since 2021;
2. A few months later, after Mr. Eric Pinon, technical expert appointed by the Paris Commercial Court submitted his report, the Judge responsible for monitoring the measures of execution, seized by the Collective due to the refusal of communication by H2O AM of numerous documents, castigated its obstructive attitude and decided to impose the payment of a penalty in the event of continuation of this strategy while by ordering the payment of a compensation under article 700 of the Code of Civil Procedure (decision of June 22, 2023);
3. Then, the Execution Judge within the Paris Judicial Court confirmed, on December 5, 2023, the provisional penalty of 450,000 euros in favor of the Collective ; in addition, it decided to inflict a new penalty of up to 2.7 million euros.
4. On December 22, 2023, the Court authorized a seizure in the hands of the banks of H2O AM Europe SAS.

After these various resounding victories in the preliminary steps for the action for compensation, the summons on the merits before the Paris Commercial Court could be delivered to the various parties. We will continue to do everything possible so that, following our first successes, the victims of the breaches of H2O and its allies can obtain fair compensation for their damage.

Registrations for the Association are once again open for unitholders who were unable to participate in the initial assignment.

We will shortly provide you with further information. In the meantime, please receive our best wishes for this new year.