Compliance Monitor

A former racehorse owner who was also the principal partner in a wealth management firm, WealthTek LLP, is to make his second appearance in court on 6 February, having been charged with nine criminal offences by the FCA.

The FCA has concluded its seventh successful action against cum-ex trading and withholding tax schemes.

Wholesale brokers in stocks, bonds, currencies and other capital markets need to work more closely with law enforcers and other public bodies in order to improve their detection of evolving risks of "money laundering through the markets" (MLTM), according to an FCA report.

With the UK Government scrambling to stimulate growth, pressure has fallen on the Financial Conduct Authority to carve back regulatory barriers. As reported in the Financial Times, [1] FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi warned that more would "go wrong" and called for politicians to define an acceptable level of harm to consumers. Nina Moffatt comments:

The FCA has imposed its initial penalty for transaction reporting breaches under MiFIR - failures that were detected by the regulator's monitoring system for market abuse. Infinox Capital Ltd, a broker based near the Bank of England, was fined £141,800, a relatively small sum that was reduced further by 30 per cent for co-operation, to £99,200.

In February 2024 the Financial Conduct Authority published a new enforcement strategy, including controversial plans to name firms under investigation more frequently and earlier. (The proposals were softened after vigorous lobbying from the regulated sector and, with the consultation closing this month, a final decision is due soon). As joint executive directors of Enforcement and Market Oversight Therese Chambers and Steve Smart approach the second anniversary of their time in office, Neasa MacErlean asks about other aspects of the strategy, [1] which includes greater use of skilled persons reports, fewer cases and faster outcomes ...

Designed to consolidate and upgrade ICT risk requirements across EU financial services and beyond, DORA is now in force and similar UK rules apply fully in March 2025. Actions required for compliance are comprehensive and demand immediate attention, reports Jonathan Armstrong.

Firms have asked the Financial Conduct Authority for more guidance to help them embed the Consumer Duty, so the regulator has published a review of approaches to complaints root cause analysis, with good practice examples and areas for enhancement. But, are there better ways for businesses to improve? Adam Samuel challenges assumptions about this deceptively difficult subject.

The Arian Financial case underscores that third-party customer due diligence is not a shortcut. Firms must take active steps to ensure that outsourced checks meet regulatory standards and align with their risk-based frameworks, as well as get to the bottom of any concerns. By David Hamilton

The EU's DORA and MiCA are now fully in operation, while the UK has provided further clarity on its proposed regulatory framework for cryptoassets. Steven Lightstone outlines new and coming developments.

Research by the regulator has highlighted a seeming increase in reporting of poor behaviour, yet offenders rarely receive severe consequences such as pay adjustments, dismissal or mention in a regulatory reference. Denis O'Connor dissects the data.

In response to a review that found a congested regulatory landscape lacking a "clear agreed vision" or "North Star", the Government has published a roadmap to improve alignment and set priorities towards a trusted and innovative payments ecosystem. Martin Dowdall and Daniel Hirschfield unpack the contents of the Vision and assess its likely impact for the sector.