Embattled French retailer Casino and parent Rallye on Thursday filed a criminal complaint with French prosecutors over British and American hedge funds shorting its shares.
The firm accuses hedge funds of price manipulation, dissemination of false or misleading information and insider trading.
The complaint will force France’s financial prosecutor Éliane Houlette to consider a formal criminal probe.
Around 18 hedge funds have taken aim at the firm, Rallye has said, and Casino is the most heavily shorted stock in Europe.
No hedge funds are named in the complaint.
Houlette has scope to undertake a preliminary investigation into the issue. She is expected to decide whether to dismiss the case or proceed with a formal probe within the next two months.
“For several months now, Rallye and Casino have been the subject of violent attacks and misinformation campaigns orchestrated notably by hedge funds in order to artificially reduce the value of their shares and destabilise the companies, their employees and shareholders,” Casino said.
