FSA and FCA enforcement for reporting and disclosure failures

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 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.

On 29 October 2025 the FCA prosecuted and convicted Luke Coleman for unlawfully obtaining and disclosing personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act. Coleman, who was employed by Virgin Media O2 and was suspended pending the criminal investigation, sold confidential customer data to a family friend for use in a boiler‑room fraud. The court ordered Coleman to pay a £384 fine, a £38 victim surcharge and £500 towards prosecution costs (total recorded penalty £922).

On 23 July 2025 the FCA issued a Final Notice prohibiting James Edward Staley from performing any senior management or significant influence function in relation to any authorised person, exempt person or exempt professional firm, and imposed a financial penalty of £1,107,306.92. The FCA found Staley breached Individual Conduct Rule 1 (which requires individuals to act with integrity), Individual Conduct Rule 3 (which requires individuals to be open and cooperative with the FCA and other regulators) and Senior Manager Conduct Rule 4. A copy of the Final Notice is published on the FCA website (link below).

The Financial Conduct Authority fined James Edward Staley £1,107,307 and prohibited him from holding senior management functions. The FCA’s Final Notice, published following the Upper Tribunal’s decision of 26 June 2025 (which upheld the FCA’s Decision Notice of 30 May 2023), found breaches of Individual Conduct Rules 1 (must act with integrity) and 3 (must be open and cooperative with regulators) and Senior Manager Conduct Rule 4 (must disclose information the FCA would reasonably expect notice of). The action was recorded on the FCA register on 23 July 2025.

On 2 July 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority fined Craig Donaldson £167,325 after finding he was knowingly concerned in a contravention of Listing Rule 1.3.3R. Listing Rule 1.3.3R requires issuers to take reasonable care to ensure that regulatory disclosures are accurate and complete. The FCA’s Final Notice (linked) records the regulator’s findings and the imposed financial penalty against the individual (not his employer).

On 2 July 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority fined David Arden £100,950. The FCA’s Final Notice says Mr Arden was found to have been knowingly concerned in contravention of Listing Rule 1.3.3R. Listing Rule 1.3.3R requires issuers to take reasonable care that regulatory disclosures are accurate and not misleading.

The FCA fined Infinox Capital Limited £99,200 for failing to submit any MiFIR transaction reports for single‑stock CFD trades executed through one corporate brokerage account between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023. Article 26(1) of MiFIR requires trading counterparties to report details of transactions to the relevant regulator; Infinox admitted liability and agreed a settlement, qualifying for a 30% discount. The FCA published a Final Notice on the matter (link below).

On 26 November 2024 the Financial Conduct Authority fined András Sebők £123,500. The FCA’s Final Notice says Sebők, a PDMR (person discharging managerial responsibilities), breached the Market Abuse Regulations by trading during closed periods and failing to make required trade disclosures. The regulator’s Final Notice (linked below) gives the full details of the breaches and the penalty.

On 25 November 2024 the Financial Conduct Authority fined Barclays Bank Plc £10,000,000 for breaches of the Listing Rules in the issuer sector, specifically for failing to disclose information the rules require. The FCA issued a Final Notice setting out the breaches and imposed the financial penalty. The regulator's Final Notice (link below) contains the detailed findings; I did not find independent press coverage in the searches I ran.

On 27 October 2024 the Financial Conduct Authority fined Kristo Käärmann £350,000. The FCA’s Final Notice records a breach of COCON 2.2.4R SC4 – a failure to disclose appropriately information to the regulator. Rule SC4 requires senior conduct‑rules staff to promptly tell the FCA information it would be reasonable to assume is of material significance. The FCA imposed a financial penalty and published a Final Notice setting out the decision.

On 13 February 2024 the Financial Conduct Authority fined individual Floris Jakobus Huisamen £31,800 for breaches of the Conduct of Business Sourcebook (CoBS) relating to financial promotions in the issuer sector. The action was taken against the individual (not his employer) and the FCA’s Final Notice records a financial penalty was imposed. The FCA notice is the regulator’s published outcome; no tribunal appeal, redress to customers or settlement discount is recorded on the FCA register entry provided.

The FCA issued a Decision Notice on 30 May 2023 proposing to prohibit James Edward Staley from performing any senior management or significant influence function and to impose a fine of £1,812,800. The Decision Notice says Mr Staley breached Individual Conduct Rule 1 (must act with integrity), Individual Conduct Rule 3 (must be open and cooperative with the FCA and other regulators) and Senior Manager Conduct Rule 4 (must disclose appropriately information the FCA would reasonably expect to be told). Mr Staley has referred the Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal, so the FCA’s findings are provisional and the proposed prohibition and fine have no effect while the Tribunal decides the case.

The FCA found that Metro Bank Plc failed to comply with Listing Rule 1.3.3 (which requires that misleading information must not be published) in an announcement dated 24 October 2018. The FCA decided to impose a financial penalty on 10 November 2022 and issued its Final Notice on 8 December 2022; Metro Bank did not refer the matter to the Upper Tribunal. The regulator’s Final Notice is published on the FCA website.

The FCA imposed a fine of £531,600 on Sigma Broking Limited in a Final Notice dated 4 October 2022 for failing to submit required reports: 56,000 contracts-for-difference (CFD) transaction reports and 97 suspicious-activity reports. The action was taken by the Financial Conduct Authority and is recorded on the FCA register. The FCA register excerpt and Final Notice record the penalty; the provided register entry does not mention any customer redress, a settlement discount, or an appeal.

In 2022 the FCA decided to fine Barclays a total of £50 million for failing to tell the market about side arrangements with Qatari investors during its two emergency capital raisings in June and October 2008, at the height of the financial crisis. Barclays had agreed to pay a Qatari entity £322 million under two "advisory" agreements that were really the price of the Qataris' investment, and the FCA found its conduct in the October 2008 fundraising was reckless and lacked integrity, breaching the Listing Rules that require companies to give investors accurate information. Barclays referred the decision to the Upper Tribunal, but in November 2024 it withdrew that challenge to draw a line under the 16-year-old matter; the FCA then issued final notices imposing a reduced penalty of £40 million, while noting that Barclays does not accept the findings.

In June 2019 the FCA fined Bank of Scotland £45.5 million for failing to be open with the regulator about suspected fraud at HBOS's Reading-based Impaired Assets office, where a team led by Lynden Scourfield had been pushing struggling small businesses towards outside consultants who stripped their assets for personal gain. The bank first identified suspicious behaviour in early 2007 — including that Scourfield had been approving lending beyond his authority for three years — but did not fully disclose its suspicions to the then regulator, the Financial Services Authority, until July 2009, and the FCA found there was insufficient challenge or scrutiny "from top to bottom" of the organisation. The FCA said the delay hampered investigations by both the regulator and Thames Valley Police. The bank agreed to settle and received a 30% discount, cutting the fine by almost £20 million; the FCA also banned four individuals involved in the fraud.

The FCA fined Goldman Sachs International £34,300,700 on 27 March 2019 for failures in its transaction reporting. The Final Notice says the firm breached SUP 17 between 5 November 2007 and 31 March 2017, and breached SUP 15 and Principle 3 between 5 November 2007 and 31 March 2015, in relation to its transaction reporting obligations. Principle 3 requires a firm to take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively, with adequate risk management systems. Goldman Sachs agreed to resolve the matter and qualified for a 30% executive settlement discount; without that discount the penalty would have been £49,063,900.

The FCA found that UBS breached Handbook rules on regulatory reporting (SUP 17) between 5 November 2007 and 24 May 2017, and breached SUP 15 and Principle 3 between 5 November 2007 and 31 July 2014, in relation to its transaction‑reporting obligations. The FCA imposed a fine of £27,599,400, taking effect on 18 March 2019; UBS agreed to settle and therefore received a 30% (stage 1) executive settlement discount (the undiscounted penalty would have been £39,427,795). Principle 3 requires firms to take reasonable care to organise and control their affairs responsibly and effectively; SUP 15 and SUP 17 are Handbook provisions covering notifications to the FCA and regulatory/transaction reporting obligations respectively.

The FCA fined Forex Capital Markets Limited and FXCM Securities Limited (together “FXCM Ltd”) £4,000,000 on 24 February 2014 for breaching Principles 6 and 11. Between 1 August 2006 and 17 December 2010 FXCM Ltd treated customers unfairly by not passing on favourable price movements in rolling spot FX trades and instead retaining the benefit, reducing customers’ ability to profit. Between July 2010 and August 2011 the firm failed to be open and co‑operative by not disclosing to the FCA that US authorities had opened an investigation into the group and that the group later settled and paid redress for asymmetric pricing. FXCM settled at an early stage and received a 20% settlement discount (the uncapped penalty would have been £5,000,000).

On 20 January 2011 the Financial Services Authority (the FSA) fined City Index Limited £490,000 for failures in transaction reporting between 5 November 2007 and 21 September 2009. The firm breached SUP 17 (transaction reporting requirements) and Principles 2 and 3 (Principle 2 requires firms to conduct business with due skill, care and diligence; Principle 3 requires firms to take reasonable care to organise and control their affairs). The FSA found City Index failed to report about 55,000 transactions and submitted roughly 1,970,000 reports with one or more data fields completed incorrectly (nearly 60% of its reportable transactions), primarily because it did not identify fundamental errors after implementing a new trading platform and had inadequate reporting processes and controls; the FCA register entry records the financial penalty and does not record other consequences such as redress, a settlement discount or an appeal.

Between July 2009 and 16 April 2010 the UK regulator (the FSA, predecessor to the FCA) fined Goldman Sachs International £17.5m for failing to tell the FSA, until 16 April 2010, that SEC staff had served a Wells Notice on 29 September 2009 relating to an approved person’s prior US activities connected to the Abacus 2007-AC1 synthetic CDO. The FSA found breaches of Principle 11 (failing to inform the regulator), and of Principles 2 and 3 for inadequate systems and controls to pass on information about group regulatory investigations and for failing to conduct its business with due skill, care and diligence in relation to regulatory reporting. The firm settled at an early stage and qualified for a 30% settlement discount (without the discount the penalty would have been £25.0m).

On 19 August 2009 the Financial Services Authority (FSA) fined Barclays Bank plc and Barclays Capital Securities Limited £2,450,000 (reduced from £3,500,000 for early settlement) for breaches occurring between 1 October 2006 and 31 October 2008. The FSA found Barclays failed to submit accurate transaction reports (SUP 17) in relation to an estimated 57.5 million transactions. The regulator also concluded Barclays breached Principle 2 (to conduct business with due skill, care and diligence — here, by not sufficiently reviewing its transaction‑reporting systems) and Principle 3 (to take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs, including adequate risk management systems, to meet reporting requirements).

Between May 1999 and 6 October 2005 UBS AG failed to make required transaction reports to the Securities and Futures Authority (and later the FSA) and failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the reports it did submit. On 17 November 2005 the FSA fined UBS £100,000 for breaches of Rule 5.49 of the SFA Rules and SUP 17.4R and SUP 15.6.1R of the FSA Rules — these provisions require firms to make transaction reports and to take reasonable steps to ensure those reports are accurate. The register entry records two periods of breach: May 1999–30 November 2001 (breach of R5.49) and 1 December 2001–6 October 2005 (breach of SUP 17.4R and SUP 15.6.1R).

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) fined City Index Ltd £35,000 (recorded 23 March 2005) for producing misleading financial promotions for spread betting and CFDs that were communicated between September and November 2003. The promotions, run in national newspapers, magazines and on carrier bags, failed to give a clear, simple and prominent warning that a customer’s liability may exceed their initial deposit; a carrier‑bag promotion offering a “free £25 bet” required an initial spread bet (so was not free). The FSA also found that City Index had ineffective systems and controls for approving financial promotions; the register entry records only the financial penalty and does not record any redress, settlement discount or appeal.

The FSA fined The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland £1,250,000 on 12 January 2004 for widespread failures in keeping customer identification records. A 2002 internal review found a 55% failure rate across the Retail, Corporate and Business divisions; the FSA’s investigation concluded the bank breached ML 7.3.2 (firms must retain a copy of customer identification evidence or a record of where it can be obtained) and ML 2.1.1 (firms must set up and operate arrangements to ensure they comply with the Money Laundering rules). The FSA noted the failings dated back at least to 2000, accepted that the bank promptly implemented remedial plans and co‑operated with the investigation, and said those factors reduced the size of the penalty.