Congratulations to Complyport Director, Graham Levi-Samper, for his appointment as the co-chair of the CASS APCC Committee. Graham heads up our specialised CASS support team, providing advice and support to our clients on handling client assets, reconciliations and CASS rule requirements, risk management advice given client asset scenarios, and accounts [...]

We previously reported on the introduction of the FCA’s policy statement PS22/11: Improvements to the Appointed Representatives regime in August 2022. As we approach 8th December 2022, we will begin to see the new policy rules come into effect. The FCA has expressed some concern that some principals engaging Appointed [...]

With its deadline in January earlier this year, the Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR) has brought in a number of significant changes for FCA authorised firms. The changes, which apply to all firms authorised by the FCA under MiFID (the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) as well as those firms [...]

The new Consumer Duty (“The Duty”) has been introduced by the FCA to ensure appropriate standards of care are provided to retail customers. The FCA published its final rules on the Duty in PS22/9 with additional guidance in FG22/5. The Duty will create a 12th Principle, found within PRIN 2.1, [...]

The FCA has recently released an update relating to their authorisations case work, and explaining the circumstances that can impact their efficiency in meeting their statutory and voluntary timelines. Once more the FCA has highlighted the importance of operating a robust gateway in order to deliver consumer protection and ensure [...]

With regulatory fines exceeding £600 million in the past two years due to failures in AML systems and controls – are you or your team aptly prepared? Complyport and the London Governance & Compliance Academy are hosting an MLRO Training Day to provide the knowledge and skills you need to [...]

Sustainability issues and concerns globally over the past decade, have led to the surfacing of a new and different approach by investors when making investment choices and decisions, namely, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). ESG – A Reminder: ESG is the term used to describe a corporation’s interests and focus [...]

CP22/18 was published by the FCA on 22 September 2022 and is part of the Wholesale Markets Review with HM Treasury to strengthen the UK’s position in global wholesale markets. It comes after the need to provide greater clarity on the types of firms which need to be authorised as [...]

The Internal Capital Adequacy and Risk Assessment (“ICARA”) was designed under the Investment Firm Prudential Regime (IFPR) to supplement FCA-regulated entities’ own funds requirements and allow the identification, monitoring and mitigation of all material potential harms that could result from the ongoing activity of the regulated firm. The new capital [...]

In April and July 2022, we published articles highlighting the risks of using social media applications like WhatsApp on private devices in the workplace. Last week, we saw that 16 Wall Street firms including Barclays, Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have been fined a combined $1.8 billion after [...]

Criminal proceedings against eight individuals over the alleged unlawful accessing and obtaining of people’s personal information from vehicle repair garages to generate potential leads for personal injury claims have been commenced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO’s involvement in criminal proceedings of this nature is not without precedent [...]

Fighting financial crime underpins the FCA’s priorities and it is taking action at pace on areas from spotting sanctions-busting to driving improvements on money laundering controls and raising consumer awareness. At the Financial Crime Summit – 1LOD on 7th September 2022, Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director, Markets, of the FCA delivered [...]

In an effort to enhance its overall anti-money laundering (AML) effectiveness, Jersey introduced a new offence under Article 35A of the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999 (the Law). Inspired by the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Methodology – Immediate Outcome 7, this is quite a significant development in the [...]

Further to our article of 16/08/2022 where we reported news of a Yorkshire man receiving a 12-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of fraud by false representation, another conviction for fraud has just been secured. A Liverpool local received a 16-month prison sentence on Monday 22nd August [...]

Published in mid-July 2022, the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) Annual Report and Accounts for 2021/2022, makes for a very interesting read. The report includes an insight into the purpose and activities of the SFO as well as giving an overview of the cases of serious fraud, bribery, and corruption they [...]

Updated in late July 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has laid out the steps a firm should consider regarding its operational and cyber resilience systems and controls following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These steps refer to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) calls for increased cyber vigilance within firms. [...]