FCA fines and enforcement actions in 2026

The FCA prosecuted two individuals from Nexus IFA/Nexus IM: director Kerry Nelson and business operations manager Jacqueline Stephens. They pleaded guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court to defrauding four clients of about £2m between January 2019 and January 2023 and to using false documents; Nelson also admitted a money‑laundering offence after withdrawing firm money for personal use. Sentencing is scheduled for 10 December 2026 and the FCA will seek confiscation proceedings against Nelson under the Proceeds of Crime Act; the FCA began criminal proceedings in February 2025.

Kerry Nelson (director of Nexus Independent Financial Advisers Ltd and Nexus Investment Managers Ltd) and Jacqueline Stephens (business operations manager) pleaded guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court on 12 October 2026 to defrauding four clients of a total of about £2m between January 2019 and January 2023 and to using false documents. Nelson also admitted a money‑laundering offence after withdrawing firm money to fund her lifestyle. The FCA brought the criminal case (proceedings started February 2025), will seek confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act and notes both Nexus firms were restricted by the FCA on 25 January 2023 and placed into administration on 26 January 2023; sentencing is scheduled for 10 December 2026.

The FCA prohibited Robin Crispin William Odey from performing any function in relation to regulated activity and fined him £1,529,374 for acting without integrity. The sanction stems from his conduct around an internal disciplinary investigation at Odey Asset Management into allegations of sexual misconduct — including twice dismissing the firm’s executive committee (ExCo) while it was investigating, lacking candour, and threatening FCA staff — which the regulator says amounted to frustrating the process. The Upper Tribunal upheld the prohibition and reduced the FCA’s original proposed fine (about £1.835m) to £1,529,374.

The FCA fined Robin Crispin William Odey £1,529,374 and imposed a prohibition order after finding he breached Individual Conduct Rule 1 (COCON 2.2.1R), which requires individuals to act with integrity. The FCA concluded Mr Odey deliberately frustrated an internal disciplinary investigation at his firm (including dismissing members of its executive committee in 2021–22). The Upper Tribunal upheld the prohibition and reduced the FCA’s originally proposed fine to £1,529,374.

The FCA fined and prohibited Richard Brian Fenech for breaches of the APER Statements of Principle 1 and 7 (Principle 1: act with integrity; Principle 7: organise and control the firm’s affairs responsibly and effectively) in relation to pensions advice. The FCA’s Final Notice records a prohibition and a financial penalty of £16,046; this followed an Upper Tribunal judgment that upheld the FCA’s ban, finding dishonesty (including a backdated appointed representative agreement) and failures to oversee pension-transfer advice. The tribunal reduced the monetary penalties and confirmed that most unsatisfactory transfer advice was given by adviser Heather Dunne (noted as occurring between April 2015 and June 2017, leading to transfers of more than £126m), while Fenech was criticised for inadequate supervision.

Heather Imogen Dunne, a pension transfer specialist who traded as Heather Dunne Independent Financial Adviser, was prohibited from working in financial services and fined £41,230 by the FCA for breaches of APER Statements of Principle 1 and 2 — failing to act with integrity and failing to act with due skill, care and diligence in the pensions sector. The Upper Tribunal found dishonesty (including a backdated appointed representative agreement and false claims about when advice was given) and criticised the quality of her pension transfer advice; it found that about 92% of her clients were advised to transfer between April 2015 and June 2017 (over £126m transferred) but determined only 18% of clients received unsuitable advice, and reduced the financial penalty accordingly. The action is recorded in the FCA Final Notice and related FCA press materials and reporting.

The FCA fined Kadir Yusuf Kanizi £20,000 and imposed a partial prohibition on 16 September 2026 for breaches of the individual conduct rules (COCON) for failing to act with due skill, care and diligence—COCON requires individuals to act with appropriate skill, care and diligence. The misconduct related to his role at Vector Wealth in promoting high‑risk bonds where investors were not properly warned; investors are expected to lose about £4m. The FCA calculated a higher sanction (£80,096) but reduced the penalty to £20,000 after Mr Kanizi showed it would cause serious financial hardship and agreed not to enforce the fine if the same amount was made available to Vector Wealth’s liquidators; he also agreed to complete consumer‑duty training before any future role in financial services.

The FCA fined and permanently prohibited Jeffrey St. Patrick Dawkins on 16 September 2026 for breaches of APER and COCON — essentially failing to act with integrity and falling below the fitness and propriety expected of an approved person. The regulator found Dawkins sold his firm (Vector Wealth) in 2019, continued to act as its director/approved person while a disqualified director ran the business and used the firm’s authorised status to promote high‑risk mini‑bonds; investors are expected to lose about £4m. In addition to the £269,233 fine he was ordered to repay £57,298 (plus interest, £68,257) of proceeds he received; the FCA applied an uplift for lack of cooperation and imposed a prohibition from performing regulated roles.

The FCA has issued a prohibition order banning Nurul Miah (also known as Neil Mia / Neil Miah) from working in financial services after the Solicitors Regulation Authority found he dishonestly caused or allowed more than £28m to be taken from client accounts without permission and that over £10m was missing and used for his own benefit. The misconduct took place between April 2019 and July 2020; the FCA concluded Mr Miah lacks the honesty and integrity required to work in financial services and has banned him to protect consumers and maintain confidence in the system. The FCA action publicises that Mr Miah cannot perform regulated functions; the FCA notice refers readers to the SRA’s own findings and press release for further detail.

On 14 September 2026 the Upper Tribunal upheld the FCA’s decision to ban Crispin Odey from the financial services industry, finding he lacked integrity for deliberately frustrating an internal disciplinary investigation into repeated inappropriate behaviour towards female employees. The Tribunal upheld all five FCA allegations, including that he bullied and threatened executive directors, twice dismissed his firm’s executive committee to halt the disciplinary process, and lacked candour with the firm, its clients, investors and the FCA. The FCA’s proposed fine of £1.835m was reduced by the Tribunal to £1.53m.

The FCA has decided to ban Daniel Thomas from working in financial services and fined him £742,700 after finding he recklessly gave defined-benefit pension transfer advice he was not qualified or authorised to give. Thomas — a director and financial adviser at DPT Financial Solutions — advised 53 clients about 63 transfers over five years, repeatedly misled clients and pension providers about his qualifications, destroyed client records, provided misleading information to his principal firm (his business was an appointed representative) and failed to cooperate with the FCA’s investigation. The action is a Decision Notice dated 3 September 2026; Thomas has referred the Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal and the FCA will take no further action until the Tribunal reaches its decision.

The FCA fined and prohibited Sanjay Maraj on 25 August 2026 for breaches of APER and COCON in the wealth management/private banking sector — the regulator found he failed to act with integrity, was not open and co‑operative, and was involved in conduct amounting to financial crime and a lack of fitness and propriety. The action arose from a scheme run at Dolfin Financial that between 2016 and 2019 helped clients bypass the UK investor‑visa rules; the FCA says Mr Maraj managed the financial aspects of the scheme. He agreed to settle and received a 30% discount on the penalty. The FCA also banned two other former Dolfin executives; one has referred his decision to the Upper Tribunal.

The FCA found that Denisz Andras Nagy, formerly chief executive of Dolfin Financial (UK) Limited, led a scheme (about 2016–2019) that helped clients bypass the Home Office investor‑visa rules by charging fees and creating a false impression that required investments had been made. On 25 August 2026 the FCA fined him £324,800 (after a 30% settlement discount) and imposed a prohibition from performing any function in relation to regulated activities, finding breaches of APER and COCON including failures of integrity, openness and co‑operation and that he was not fit and proper. The FCA said the scheme enabled at least 99 individuals to obtain investor visas and generated at least £35.5m in fees; the notice also records that Nagy and others deliberately concealed the scheme from the FCA and the Home Office.

The FCA fined and banned Demetrios Christos Hadjigeorgiou after finding breaches of APER 6 (Statement of Principle 6: to exercise due skill, care and diligence) and FIT (fitness and propriety requirements) while he was CEO of SVS Securities Plc. The regulator found he allowed customers’ pension money to be put into high‑risk products and failed to challenge a 10% reduction applied to customers’ bond sales, a decision that generated £359,800 for SVS and caused some customers to lose part of their pension savings. He was fined £56,400, given a prohibition order and settled with the FCA by withdrawing his referral to the Upper Tribunal.

The FCA found that Paul Vincent Taylor breached Individual Conduct Rule 1 (must act with integrity) by making false and misleading statements and falsifying documents—including claims he owned a c.€200m bond portfolio—while seeking to acquire a UK bank and Reading Football Club. The regulator fined him £489,000, imposed a prohibition (ban) from regulated activities and concluded he acted dishonestly. Taylor qualified for a 30% settlement discount; without it the penalty would have been £698,600. The FCA’s final notice and press release set out the findings and sanction dates in August 2026.

The FCA fined Esmeralda Toni £121,200 and issued a prohibition after finding she breached Individual Conduct Rule 1 (COCON 2.2.1R) by failing to act with integrity in the wholesale broking sector. The FCA found Toni knowingly assisted Blue Horizon’s then-CEO in creating false documents and misleading statements — including claims about ownership of a €200m bond portfolio — while pursuing attempted acquisitions of a UK bank and Reading Football Club. The conduct took place while she was an executive director at Blue Horizon (Feb 2022–Dec 2025); she agreed to settle the matter and qualified for a 30% discount under FCA procedures (without the discount the penalty would have been £173,100).

The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) issued a decision dated 12 June 2026 (published 5 August 2026) in the case Alec Finch and Robert Finch v The Financial Conduct Authority. The FCA had decided to prohibit the two (formerly senior figures at AFL Insurance Brokers Limited, later Ambon Brokers) after a High Court judgment found they misused client money to fund AFL’s business, created false financial records to mislead a buyer and others, and concealed a significant client money deficit. The FCA said it would have imposed fines of £121,200 on Alec Finch and £169,800 on Robert Finch but accepted verifiable evidence that any penalty would cause each serious financial hardship, and the regulator removed them from the industry.

Robert Finch was one of two individuals (a father and son) the FCA decided to ban after finding they had misused client money at AFL Insurance Brokers Limited and prepared false financial records to mislead a buyer, leaving the firm with a client money deficit. The FCA issued Decision Notices and noted it would have imposed a financial penalty of £169,800 on Robert Finch but did not impose any fine because he provided verifiable evidence of serious financial hardship; the case was the subject of an Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) decision dated 12 June 2026 (published 5 August 2026).

The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) published its decision in BriceAmery Capital Ltd v The Financial Conduct Authority, cited [2026] UKUT 00288 (TCC), on 30 July 2026. The FCA register records the decision as being handed down by Judge Anne Redston. I don’t currently have access to the full tribunal text or any contemporaneous press coverage in this session, so I cannot yet say what the tribunal actually found, whether any prohibition or financial penalty was imposed, or whether there are consequential remedies or appeals.

The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) upheld the FCA’s decision to ban Heather Imogen Dunne from working in regulated financial services, finding she acted dishonestly (including by providing a back‑dated appointed representative agreement) and failed to take proper care when giving pension transfer advice. The Tribunal found that between April 2015 and June 2017 Ms Dunne advised about 92% of her clients to transfer out of defined‑benefit schemes (over £126m transferred) and concluded 18% of her clients received unsuitable advice. The FCA’s fines were upheld as appropriate but reduced by the Tribunal; Ms Dunne was fined and banned, and has the usual right to seek further appeal. The Tribunal published its decision on 27 July 2026 and the FCA issued a press release on 3 August 2026 confirming the bans and reduced penalties.

The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) upheld the FCA’s decision to ban Richard Brian Fenech from working in financial services on 27 July 2026. The tribunal found he acted dishonestly by providing a backdated appointed representative agreement and failed to properly oversee adviser Heather Dunne, whose pension transfer work between April 2015 and June 2017 led to over £126m being transferred. The tribunal reduced the financial penalty to reflect its finding that 18% of Dunne’s clients received unsuitable advice and that only Fenech’s income from his relationship with Dunne should be counted when calculating his penalty. The tribunal’s decision was published on 27 July 2026 and the FCA issued final notices following that judgment.

On 12 May 2026 the Financial Conduct Authority fined and prohibited Frank Breuer £755,000 for breaches of the Fit and Proper test (FIT), COCON 2.1.1 and APER 1 related to a lack of fitness and propriety and failing to act with integrity as an investment adviser. The FCA found he provided pension and investment advice without the required professional indemnity insurance (since April 2019), failed to pay an Ombudsman award and put customers’ compensation at risk. The penalty includes disgorgement of financial benefit and interest; the FCA imposed both a prohibition from regulated activity and the financial penalty (Final Notice dated 12 May 2026).

The FCA fined Dinosaur Merchant Bank Limited £338,000 for failing to have effective systems and controls to detect and report suspicious trading in its contracts for difference (CFD) business. A new order system introduced in June 2024 led to a sharp rise in CFD trading (about $3.05bn of trades between June and October 2024) that was not captured by the firm’s automated surveillance; DMBL identified the issue in October 2024 but did not fully remedy it until May 2025 and stopped selling CFDs in May 2025. The FCA found breaches of Article 16(2) of UK MAR (the duty to detect and report suspicious orders/transactions), SYSC 6.1.1R (requirement to maintain adequate systems and controls) and Principle 3 (take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs), and applied a 30% cooperation discount (the fine would have been £482,900 without the discount).

The FCA fined Richard John Howson £237,700 on 16 February 2026 for being knowingly concerned in misleading announcements by Carillion and for failures of systems, controls and integrity. The regulator found he acted recklessly and was knowingly concerned in breaches of Article 15 of the Market Abuse Regulation, Listing Rule 1.3.3R, Listing Principle 1 and Premium Listing Principle 2 in the period 1 July 2016 to 10 July 2017 (including announcements on 7 Dec 2016, 1 Mar 2017 and 3 May 2017). Howson withdrew his referral of the FCA’s decision to the Upper Tribunal, which meant the Final Notice was published and the penalty finalised.

The FCA fined Bhavesh Hirani £56,000 on 27 January 2026 for insider dealing and the unlawful disclosure of inside information, breaches of Article 14(a) and 14(c) of the UK Market Abuse Regulation. The regulator found that while interim CFO at Bidstack in December 2021 Hirani passed confidential details of a material deal to a friend (Dipesh Kerai), opened a trading account in that friend’s name and — with his help — bought about 1.3m Bidstack shares ahead of the public announcement. The assessed penalty was £80,000 but Hirani received a 30% settlement discount, reducing the fine to £56,000; the friend made circa £9,200 when the shares rose and his penalty included disgorgement of that profit.

The FCA found that in December 2021 Bhavesh Hirani (then interim CFO at Bidstack) passed confidential inside information about a major deal to his friend Dipesh Kerai. Kerai used an account in his name (funded with about £25,000 of his money) to buy 1.3m Bidstack shares before the announcement and made roughly £9,260 when the price rose; the FCA concluded this was insider dealing (breach of Article 14(a) of the UK Market Abuse Regulation, which prohibits dealing in securities while in possession of inside information). The FCA fined Kerai £52,731 (including £9,260.74 disgorgement plus interest and a penalty reduced by a 30% settlement discount).

The FCA (whose decision was upheld by the Upper Tribunal) found that Darren Antony Reynolds gave dishonest pension transfer advice to members of the British Steel Pension Scheme, encouraged unsuitable transfers and investments, hid high exit fees, falsified documents and obstructed the investigation. He was banned from regulated financial services and fined £2,037,892 for breaching Statement of Principle 1 (which requires firms and individuals to act with integrity). The FCA said over £17.6m has been paid in compensation to more than 470 affected customers and that the Tribunal agreed with the FCA’s penalty calculation; no settlement discount was applied.

The FCA fined former Carillion finance director Richard Adam £232,800 on 7 January 2026 for being knowingly concerned in Carillion’s publication of misleading information. The regulator found he was aware of serious problems in Carillion’s UK construction business but failed to ensure that announcements, or the board and audit committee, were properly informed; the breaches included Article 15 of the Market Abuse Regulation (no false or misleading signals), Listing Rule 1.3.3R (don’t publish misleading information), Listing Principle 1 (have adequate procedures, systems and controls) and Premium Listing Principle 2 (act with integrity). Mr Adam — finance director from April 2007 to 31 December 2016 — withdrew his challenge to the FCA’s decision.

On 7 January 2026 the Financial Conduct Authority fined Zafar Khan £138,900 for being “knowingly concerned” in Carillion’s publication of misleading information in late 2016 and 2017. The FCA found Mr Khan — who had been Carillion’s finance director in 2017 — was aware of serious problems in the company’s UK construction business but failed to ensure announcements, and the board’s oversight, reflected that; he was found to have breached Article 15 of the Market Abuse Regulation (prohibits market manipulation / false or misleading statements), Listing Rule 1.3.3R (do not publish misleading information), Listing Principle 1 (requirement to have adequate procedures, systems and controls) and Premium Listing Principle 2 (requirement to act with integrity). The fine followed Mr Khan’s withdrawal of his challenge to the FCA’s decision.