Two directors banned and brokerage fined £530k for defective market abuse controls

A compliance department that lacked qualified staff and clear reporting lines was a major factor in circumstances at a London broker which has been fined £530,000, as well as had two of its directors prohibited.

By Neasa MacErlean

Both directors and a third were also fined over £60,000 each. The disciplinary action on Sigma Broking Ltd relates to insufficient market abuse controls and is the second such action in seven weeks, following the £12.5 million fine handed to Citigroup Global Markets. As with Citigroup, no financial benefit was found to have been derived from the breaches.