The former CEO of a financial firm has been fined £120,300 ($152,521) and banned by the FCA for providing incorrect information about clients’ cash.
James Lewis of Shard Capital Partners told auditors his firm held hundereds of millions in cash for one client when in fact the sums were debts owed by another client in the group. And he provided misleading information to another client claiming Shard held substantial sums for it when in fact that client’s total cash balance had been transferred out if its account.
The offences occurred between June 2015 and July 2021.
The regulator says Lewis knew the information he provided would be used to produce clients’ annual accounts, and so those accounts were misstated.
“Mr Lewis fell woefully short of the high standards of skill, care and integrity we expect of all those who lead financial firms. Investors depend on accurate information, and Mr Lewis’ actions put investors at significant risk of losses. It is right that he won’t be allowed to work in regulated financial services again,” said Steve Smart, joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight.
A sophisticated boiler room fraud that defrauded 120 investors of £1.3m ($1.56m) has resulted in the sentencing of three individuals to 23 years in prison, and one more to an 18-month sentence for perverting the course of justice.
Cameron Vickers, Raheel Mirza and Opeyemi Solaja were convicted of conspiracy to defraud contrary to common law. Sardar provided a forged document which he claimed had been signed by ‘Mohammed Khan’ to support a defence offered by Mirza and Solaja that ‘Khan’ was behind the fraud they were accused of.
Sardar was not involved in the fraud, but provided the document in order to mislead the FCA.
The Judge, Mr Recorder Gavaghan, said: “This was a sophisticated attempt using a forged document to undermine the course of justice…[it was] a very serious offence that strikes at the very core of the legal system.”
Stuart Bayes has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, after being convicted on two counts of insider trading.
Sentencing Bayes, His Honour Judge Hopmeier, said: “You deliberately and dishonestly probed for information on when the takeover would be and exploited that information for your own financial gain.”
We reported details of the case in a previous roundup.
Shares in Umuthi Healthcare Solutions remain discontinued after the company withdrew its challenge to the FCA’s decision to halt listing. The withdrawal means the FCA’s First Supervisory Notice remains in force.
Kristofer McGuire, Keith Williamson and Karla Walker have been charged with fraud over their alleged involvement in a high-risk CFD trading scheme that targeted people’s pensions.
The trio are alleged to have made false statements to a trading platform that their clients were professional investors. Victims were encouraged to use their pension funds to invest. These were then traded to generate large commissions for those running the scheme, with a total of £8m ($10.14) in victims’ pension funds almost entirely lost.
The organizers of a network of nine finfluencers with a combined following of 4.5 million have been charged by the FCA with running an unauthorized investment scheme and issuing unauthorized financial promotions.
Emmanuel Nwanze is alleged to have worked with Holly Thompson through the Instagram account @holly_fxtrends to provide advice on the buying and selling of CFDs, despite having no authorization to do so. The pair are alleged to have paid TV personalities Biggs Chris, Jamie Clayton, Lauren Goodger, Rebecca Gormley, Yazmin Oukhellou, Scott Timlin and Eva Zapico to promote the account to their followers.
The defendants are due to apear before Westminster magistrates in June.
Speeches and media
A warning to consumers about unexpected calls claiming to be about funeral planning was issued after the regulator became aware of a rise in the number of scam calls following the awful events at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors.
Building societies “have spotted opportunity where others just saw risk – and in doing so, you have also helped tackle financial exclusion,” the FCA’s Chief Operating Officer Emily Shepperd told an audience at The Building Societies Annual Conference.
The theme of building societies being a force for good ran through the speech, but Shepperd also acknowledged that “building societies are sometimes seen as being traditional, perhaps a bit old-school” and emphasised “they must embrace technology and continue to evolve without losing their community-centred credentials.”
She said the regulator’s role was to help building societies “ensure that they continue to lend responsibly, provide value, and innovate for the future.”
Shepperd also spoke at the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) Conference, giving delegates her view that “The industry must show more leadership in evidencing the value that brokers play when designing commissions and on policing non-financial misconduct and promoting healthy work cultures.”
Conference heard Shepperd address themes including the increasing use of AI, tackling non-financial misconduct, and the requirements of Consumer Duty. She also recognised that: “We could be better at communicating our intentions or reasoning for our regulations.” She promised to continue with what she described as a “proportionate” approach to regulation, and said: “We are considering where we can reduce the regulatory burden on brokers, particularly when insurance is placed through overseas brokers.”
And she said: “We know there have been concerns about our proposals to announce enforcement investigations earlier on in the process. Our approach is designed to raise transparency about what we are investigating with the aim of reassuring customers and investors, educating firms, encouraging witnesses to come forward and better ensuring we can be held to account.”
