Author Archives: ETE

Mr Olumide Osunkoya pleaded guilty to 5 offences at today’s hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. This is the first UK conviction of its kind for offences relating to the operation of crypto ATMs. Mr Osunkoya is due to be sentenced for running multiple crypto ATMs without FCA registration, creating and using false documents, and for […]

The FCA is stepping in to better protect customers when payments and e-money firms go out of business. Use of payments firms has grown in recent years, but the FCA says it continues to see poor safeguarding practices from firms. Funds held by payments and e-money firms are not directly protected by the Financial Services […]

The Federal Court today ordered Vanguard Investments Australia to pay a $12.9 million penalty for making misleading claims about environmental, social and governance (ESG) exclusionary screens. These screens were applied to investments in the Vanguard Ethically Conscious Global Aggregate Bond Index Fund. ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, ‘This is an important decision and the […]

The Full Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by Peter Daly, a former director of Linchpin Capital Group Ltd (in liquidation). The matter, heard before Justice O’Callaghan, Justice McElwaine and Justice Jackman upheld the previous Federal Court ruling that Mr Daly: was an officer of a responsible entity of a registered managed investment scheme, breached […]

Following an ASIC investigation, the Markets Disciplinary Panel (MDP) has fined Macquarie Bank Limited (Macquarie) a record $4.995 million for failing to prevent suspicious orders being placed on the electricity futures market. This is the highest penalty ever imposed by the MDP. On 50 occasions, from January to September 2022, Macquarie breached market integrity rules […]

ASIC has cancelled the Australian credit licences of Ultimate Credit Management Pty Ltd (in liquidation) (Ultimate Credit) and Worry Free Finance Pty Ltd (Worry Free) following payments of compensation by the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR). On 6 February 2024, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) made a determination against Ultimate Credit, which Ultimate […]

Key messages: We are adapting our approach to enforcement to meet evolving threats and maximise the deterrent effect. We are making our investigations faster and more focused to nip financial crime in the bud and send timely signals to markets and consumers. Enforcement is just one of our tools – industry cooperation, assertive supervision and […]

We have extended the pause to the deadline for motor finance firms to provide a final response to customer complaints regarding discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) until 4 December 2025. On 11 January 2024, we announced a review into whether motor finance customers have been overcharged because of the past use of DCAs. We also paused […]

SHL is a financial services advisory firm, offering advice on a range of products including retirement, pensions and estate planning. The joint administrators sold SHL’s regulated business and assets to Hybrid Advice Central Limited (HACL), which is authorised and regulated by us, on 10 September 2024. As part of the sale, SHL’s clients have been […]

In August 2024, a former employee who left the FCA some years ago made an allegation publicly that, in the course of whistleblowing, their identity was not kept confidential by the chair of the FCA, Ashley Alder. Following the first public allegation, a second former employee of the FCA, who also left some years ago, […]