Financial Conduct Authority Investigations & Enforcement

The Financial Conduct Authority has the power to make rules that businesses offering financial services have to follow. It also has the power to investigate if a business is accused of breaking the rules and to take businesses to court to enforce the rules if necessary.

The FCA exists to protect businesses and consumers.. The Enforcement Division has the power to:

Investigate and sanction firms and individuals
Force individuals to attend interviews
Make compulsory requests for information and documents
Punish individuals and firms who have broken the FCA’s rules. Punishments include fines, censure, prohibition or removal of authorisation or approval
Start civil or criminal proceedings for certain offences such as insider dealing and misleading statements or practices

Being investigated by the FCA is often traumatic and can lead to a huge strain being placed on your business and private life. It is incredibly stressful to have every detail of your financial dealings and business transactions looked at by someone else. It can disrupt your business and be difficult for you, your loved ones and your employees to cope with.

Financial Crimes Investigated By The FCA

It is very important that you get specialist legal advice as soon as possible if the FCA suspects that you are involved in:

Mis-selling
Market abuse
Insider dealing
Using misleading statements and practices
Money laundering
Involvement in Illegal share selling or 'boiler rooms'
Illegal deposit-taking
Unauthorised collective investment schemes
Mortgage fraud
Perimeter breaches
FCA principle and rule breaches

How Irwin Mitchell Can Help You

We have a team of dedicated, experienced solicitors who specialise in helping clients by supporting them through investigations and defending them against criminal and civil proceedings.

It is vital you have specialist legal advice when faced with an investigation or prosecution by the FCA. For example, careful preparation is needed before you are interviewed under caution, since anything you say or do not say during that interview can have a massive impact on your case.

We can provide you with expert advice and support if you:

Think you might face an investigation by the FCA in the near future
Are being investigated by the FCA at the moment
Are being prosecuted by the FCA
Are unsure about whether to disclose information to the FCA

Our specialist solicitors can give you all the advice and representation you might need if you are supposed to have breached FCA regulations, whether you are facing criminal, civil or regulatory punishments.

We can also explain to you:

What the FCA can do to enforce its regulations
What the FCA can force you to do during an investigation
How the FCA investigates and how it makes its decisions
How an FCA investigation can affect you and your business

We have other solicitors available to give advice on employment law and other areas of law that might have an impact on your investigation, for example if you have to deal with employee misconduct that becomes clear from an FCA investigation.

We can also explain what an investigation could mean for your approved-person status. We’ll help you deal with any issues you may be facing, including:

Self-reporting or FCA notification of potential rule breaches
The FCA handbook – principle and rule breaches
Financial promotions regime and mis-selling
Training and competence, systems and controls
Perimeter guidance and regulated activities
Approved Persons Fit and Proper regime
Senior management responsibility and significant influence functions
FCA interviews (including interviews under caution)
Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC) hearings
Financial Services and Markets Tribunal hearings
Proceedings against the FCA
Negotiating settlement and final notices

Call Us Today For An Initial Discussion With No Obligation

If you are under investigation by the FCA or are worried that you might be, then call us today for an initial, no obligation discussion about your circumstance and how we can help. If you have been investigated and now face prosecution for a financial crime, then do not hesitate to get in touch. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for urgent advice.

For an initial discussion, with no obligation, call Jason Newall on 0114 2947983 - or send us an online enquiry and we will get back to you.

For general enquiries

0370 1500 100

Or we can call you back at a time of your choice

Phone lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year

Freephone

0370 1500 100

Prefer not to call?

Use our form

Your name*

Your email*

Your phone number*

How can we help?*

This data will only be used by Irwin Mitchell for processing your query and for no other purpose.

Jason Newall Partner Meet the team

Awards & Accreditations

We're always proud to be recognised for the work we do for our clients and have been named as a leading firm in the latest legal guides - which provide information and recommendations about lawyers and law firms in the UK.