The second-tier Tallinn Circuit Court upheld a decision by Harju County Court to revoke a fine the Finantsinspektsioon issued to Admiral Markets AS in February, for what it called non-compliance with the Securities Market Act.

The issues followed the aftermath of the crash of crude oil futures prices in April 2020, Admiral Markets had told the Tallinn Stock Exchange, but rejected the Finantsinspektsioon decision and claimed that it had always acted in the best interests of its clients and operated in accordance with the regulatory framework even when faced with unusual circumstances such as the crude oil futures price crash.

The Finantsinspektsioon said Admiral Markets had substantively changed the terms and conditions of it financial instruments unilaterally and without prior notice, more specifically, methodologies used on the calculation of crude oil spot prices.

Admiral was hit with the €32,000 fine on February 8 this year, and filed an appeal with Harju County Court on February 23.

Harju County Court annulled the fine on March 31, prompting the Finantsinspektsioon to appeal to the second-tier circuit court.

The latter upheld the original county court decision on May 24. The order has yet to enter into force.

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