Allianz Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Agrees to Pay $5.8 Billion

Posted on May 25th, 2022 at 10:41 AM
Allianz Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Agrees to Pay $5.8 Billion

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law:

A unit of Allianz SE has agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud and pay $5.8 billion in fines and restitution following the collapse of a relatively low-risk pool of investment funds amidst pandemic volatility. 

The firm has agreed to pay $3.2 billion in restitution to investors in its Structured Alpha Funds as well as a $1 billion fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A former executive at Allianz, Gregoire Tournant, has been separately charged for his role in the alleged securities fraud, according to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. Tournant, who served as the former chief investment officer, assisted in overstating the degree of independent supervision that AGI was providing, misrepresented several risk mitigation strategies and altered documents to conceal the volatility of the funds, according to prosecutors. 

Despite being created to protect investors from a market downtown, the Structured Alpha hedge funds suffered substantial hits amidst volatility during the pandemic. During the first quarter of 2020, the Structured Alpha hedge funds lost between 49% and 97% of their value. Allianz subsequently liquidated two of the funds in March 2020, and has proceeded to liquidate others. 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory, arbitration and disciplinary matters. Those investors who lost money in Structured Alpha Funds should contact us.

 
 

Tags:

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

Fantastic news!!!!  Your professionalism, support and expertise were greatly appreciated.  You made a difficult situation much more bearable.

Marci M.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

December 3, 2025
FINRA Sanctions Former Morgan Stanley Broker Over Unauthorized Transfers

A longtime Morgan Stanley financial advisor agreed to a $5,000 fine and a two-month suspension after FINRA found that he executed multiple transfers from his former spouse’s retirement account without proper authorization, as reported by AdvisorHub.

December 2, 2025
Crypto's Leverage Shakeout Exposes Structural Risks

The crypto market’s recent downturn erased nearly $20 billion in leveraged positions within hours and half a trillion dollars in market value over a single weekend.

December 1, 2025
UBS Winds Down Funds as First Brands Bankruptcy Ripples Through Global Markets

UBS Group AG has begun liquidating two invoice finance funds with direct exposure to First Brands Group, marking one of the earliest moves by a major financial institution to contain the fallout from the bankrupt auto-parts supplier’s collapse, as reported by Bloomberg Law.