Soros Fund Management has lodged an appeal within the legally prescribed deadline against an earlier court decision rejecting its appeal against a resolution from the financial-market regulator PSZAF to fine the fund for unfair market-influence.

Econews reported earlier that the Municipal Court of Budapest on December 11 rejected an appeal by Soros Fund Management of a decision from financial-market regulator PSZAF fining the fund HUF 489m (EUR 1.83m) for exercising unfair market-influence.

Soros Fund Management borrowed hundreds of thousands OTP Bank shares and sold them in the last minutes of trade on the Budapest Stock Exchange on October 9, 2008, causing the price to fall more than 9pc. PSZAF estimated the fund profited USD 675,000 from the transaction, and it set the fine at four times that amount.

George Soros, the Hungarian-born U.S. investor who owns the fund, earlier called the sale an unfortunate matter. "I particularly regret the incident due to my strong personal connection to Hungary, even if the company's broker did not violate current Hungarian regulations," Mr Soros said.