Former Diana Holding Representative Loses French Appeal Over €2 Million Fine
Serge Heringer, who represented the Moroccan group Diana Holding at the time of the events, has lost another legal battle in France. On Wednesday, November 4, the Court of Cassation rejected his appeal in a dispute over the collection of a €2 million fine.
The legal battle dates back to June 2, 2021. On that day, the French Treasury issued a payment notice demanding that Serge Heringer pay a penalty imposed a few weeks earlier by the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF). Heringer challenged the demand and began proceedings that took him successively before administrative and judicial courts.
The case stemmed from transactions involving shares in Marie Brizard Wine & Spirits (MBWS), a French wine and spirits group in which Diana Holding was then the majority shareholder. In its decision of April 28, 2021, the AMF penalized Serge Heringer for recommending that Luxembourg-based DF Holding invest in MBWS on the basis of privileged information about the company’s financial results.
The personal fine of €2 million was in addition to penalties imposed on Diana Holding, which was initially fined €10 million, and its chairwoman, Rita Zniber, who was fined €6 million. In September 2025, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld Serge Heringer’s fine, while reducing Diana Holding’s to €9.92 million.
The French Treasury had directed him to the wrong court
One detail stands out in the proceedings: in a letter dated July 30, 2021, the Treasury’s special claims department itself stated that challenges to the payment notice fell within the jurisdiction of the administrative court. The Paris Court of Appeal ruled that this guidance was incorrect in its March 24, 2025 decision.
Serge Heringer did in fact take his case to the administrative courts in March 2022, before turning to the judicial court in June 2023. He nevertheless continued to argue that the administrative courts had jurisdiction, maintaining that the claim made by the French state was subject to their review.
In its ruling of November 4, 2026, the Court of Cassation ruled in favor of the judicial courts’ jurisdiction. The judges said the challenge to the payment notice remained connected to the penalty imposed by the AMF and had to be examined by the Paris Court of Appeal.
This latest setback concerns which court will examine the collection of the fine. Serge Heringer was also ordered to pay legal costs and €3,000 to the minister responsible for Finance to cover procedural expenses.
