PARIS (Reuters) – French market regulator AMF has called for the shares and bonds of care home company Orpea to be suspended, the watchdog said on Monday, as Orpea faces legal action legal proceedings for allegations of professional misconduct in its French retirement homes.
Asked to comment on the AMF’s decision, Orpea said in a statement: “At the request of the French financial regulator, Orpea’s share is currently suspended since Monday October 24 before the market opens, pending publication of a company press release”.
Last month, Orpea – accused of abusing elderly residents and embezzling public funds – posted an interim net loss of 269 million euros ($264.9 million), compared to a profit of 102 million euros at the same period last year.
Orpea said in June that an independent audit had found evidence of financial wrongdoing, including inflated labor expenses and suspicious third-party payments, but did not support all the allegations against the company. business made by ‘Les Fossoyeurs’ (The Gravediggers), a book by freelance journalist Victor Castanet published earlier this year.
Orpea shares last traded at 14.74 euros on October 21. The stock has fallen around 80% since the start of 2022.
($1 = 1.0156 euros)
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by David Goodman and Barbara Lewis)
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