German financial watchdog Bafin is examining trading in shares of utility RWE after receiving several leads in connection with market abuse over the past two months. Shares in RWE, which is suffering from a prolonged industry slump, have been subject to massive market swings in recent weeks, hitting record lows in mid-August after the group unveiled billing issues in its British business.
"We are carrying out a routine analysis regarding the shares of RWE in connection with suspected market abuse," a Bafin spokeswoman said on Friday. "This is based on various leads from August and September." The spokeswoman added that Bafin's investigation is not targeting RWE itself and that the organisation launches between 700 and 800 routine examinations a year. An RWE spokeswoman said: "Should the investigation target RWE as an issuer of shares, we would be consulted."