Who was sanctioned, and for what?

The PRA fined HDI Global SE, an insurer headquartered in Hanover that operates in the UK through a branch, 4,165,000 GBP. Between August 2021 and August 2024 the firm repeatedly submitted incorrect data on liabilities protected by the FSCS and on the FSCS levy tariff, including in supposedly corrected submissions; it lacked written procedures, clear accountability and internal oversight, and before summer 2023 it did not consult the PRA's rules and guidance.

Authority / court

Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Bank of England

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

PRA Fundamental Rules 2 und 6; s. 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

negligent

Mitigating circumstances

Detailed account under the Early Account Scheme, settlement with a 30% discount (otherwise 5,950,000 GBP), corrected historical data and additional FSCS levies paid; in the PRA's view the breaches were neither deliberate nor reckless.

Published

20 Jul 2026

Original amount 4,165,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 16 Jul 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA barred the debt advice firm Curtis Faraday Limited with immediate effect from accepting new customers or referrals for debt, insolvency and IVA-related activities and required it to refer existing customers to other advice providers. Based on file reviews and call recordings, the FCA saw indications that customers' financial information was distorted during the advice process, that the business model, with close links to insolvency service providers, created conflicts of interest and a bias towards commission-generating solutions, that staff circumvented controls and that the firm repeatedly gave the FCA incomplete or inconsistent information.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

s. 55L(3)(a) FSMA 2000; Threshold Conditions nach Schedule 6 FSMA (paras. 2C, 2D, 2E und 2F)

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA publicly censured Sapia Partners LLP. Sapia was responsible for client money accounts operated in connection with its appointed representative, a wealth manager, but the FCA found that from 2014 to 2020 it did not ensure effective segregation between those making payments and those reconciling the accounts. About £150 million was deposited into the accounts in that period, exposing clients to a risk of loss. Sapia agreed to a voluntary payment of £19,637,950 to that representative's clients; for this reason the FCA did not impose a fine, which it said would otherwise have been £7,412,000 (after discount).

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

FCA Principle 10; CASS 7.12.2R bzw. CASS 7.3.2R; section 205 FSMA 2000

Action

Reprimand or warning

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

After a new order management system was introduced in June 2024, CFD transactions with an underlying value of around 3.05 billion USD were not captured by automated trade surveillance. The bank identified the error in October 2024 but only remedied it in May 2025; the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed 338,000 GBP after a 30% cooperation discount.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

Art. 16 Abs. 2 UK MAR; SYSC 6.1.1R; FCA Principle 3

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Full cooperation (30% discount); CFD business discontinued in May 2025.

Original amount 338,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 27 Mar 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The PRA fined The Bank of London Group Limited and its financial holding company Oplyse Holdings Limited 2,000,000 GBP. Between October 2021 and May 2024 they failed to meet their capital requirements for an extended period, repeatedly misled the PRA about their actual capital position – including with fabricated documents – and did not properly manage or report a large exposure arising from a loan by the bank to its parent. It was the PRA's first fine for a lack of integrity and its first action against a financial holding company; a penalty of 12 million GBP would have been appropriate.

Authority / court

Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Bank of England

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

PRA Fundamental Rules 1, 3, 4 und 7; PRA Rulebook: Reporting (CRR) Part Kap. 3 Art. 5 und Art. 7, Large Exposures (CRR) Part Art. 393–395, Notifications 2.3, Related Party Transaction Risk 2.1 und 2.3, Definition of Capital 7A; ss. 206 und 192Y FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

intentional

Mitigating circumstances

Because serious financial hardship was demonstrated, the PRA reduced the penalty from 12 million GBP to 2 million GBP; the firms settled with the PRA.

Published

24 Mar 2026

Original amount 2,000,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Mar 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The PRA fined U K Insurance Limited, the principal insurance company of the Direct Line Group (part of Aviva since July 2025), 10,625,000 GBP. Because of ineffective controls and staffing and capability issues in its finance and actuarial functions, its Solvency II balance sheet was miscalculated in 2023 and 2024, so that the firm overstated its solvency to the PRA and the market; the error went undetected for a considerable time. It was the first case under the PRA's Early Account Scheme.

Authority / court

Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Bank of England

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

PRA Fundamental Rule 6; Notifications 6.1; Reporting 2.4 und 3.2 (PRA Rulebook); s. 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

negligent

Mitigating circumstances

Participation in the Early Account Scheme with early admissions: 50% discount (otherwise 21.25 million GBP); after discovery management notified the PRA without delay, corrected the published figures and remedied the causes; in the PRA's view the breaches were neither deliberate nor reckless.

Published

11 Mar 2026

Original amount 10,625,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 10 Mar 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The energy services company published incorrect results for the 2022 and 2023 financial years and for the first half of 2024; accounting judgements were influenced by the desire to maintain previously reported figures, and systems and controls were inadequate. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed a fine of 12,993,700 GBP (18,562,500 GBP without the 30 % discount).

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Listing Rule 1.3.3R; Listing Principle 1

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Energy and utilities

Employees

10,000 or more

Mitigating circumstances

30 % discount for early settlement and acceptance of the findings

Published

4 Mar 2026

Original amount 12,993,700 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 3 Mar 2026.

Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link

The FCA publicly censured the former construction and services group Carillion plc. The regulator found that between July 2016 and July 2017 the company published misleading information, breaching the prohibition of market manipulation and listing requirements; in July 2017 Carillion had to announce a provision of £845 million. Because the company has been in liquidation since January 2018, no fine was imposed; the FCA stated it would otherwise have been £37.91 million.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Market abuse and insider dealing

Legal basis

Art. 15 MAR; Listing Rule 1.3.3R; Listing Principle 1; Premium Listing Principle 2; sections 91 und 123 FSMA 2000

Action

Reprimand or warning

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Construction and real estate

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

In 2017 staff at the London branch of the Luxembourg private bank Banque Havilland SA (now Rangecourt SA) prepared a paper setting out manipulative trading strategies intended to put pressure on the Qatari riyal and its peg to the US dollar; it was meant for a UAE sovereign wealth fund. On 3 February 2026 the Upper Tribunal upheld the breach of Principle 1 (integrity) but reduced the penalty of 10,000,000 GBP set by the FCA in its Decision Notice of 17 January 2023 to 4,000,000 GBP.

Authority / court

Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) (Verfahren der Financial Conduct Authority (FCA))

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Market abuse and insider dealing

Legal basis

Principle 1 der FCA Principles for Businesses; s. 206 FSMA 2000; Entscheidung nach s. 133 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

reduced

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

intentional

Mitigating circumstances

According to the findings the paper was not passed on and the strategy was never implemented; the bank itself reported the matter to the Luxembourg supervisor CSSF and to the FCA, cooperated, had it investigated at its own cost of around £2.5m, and the employees involved had left the bank.

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Published

3 Feb 2026

Original amount 4,000,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 3 Feb 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA removed all regulated activities from the permission of the financial intermediary Verus Financial Services Limited with immediate effect and imposed an asset restriction. By its own admission the firm had repeatedly and deliberately breached a restriction it had voluntarily accepted in September 2023, which prohibited payments above 5,000 GBP without the FCA's consent, had failed to comply with a Financial Ombudsman Service decision of 30 June 2024 in favour of a customer and, in the FCA's view, had not been open and cooperative.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

ss. 55J(2)(a)(ii) und 55L(3)(a) FSMA 2000; Threshold Condition para. 2E Schedule 6 FSMA; DISP 3.7.12R; Principles 6 und 11 der FCA Principles for Businesses

Action

Order

Status of proceedings

unknown

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

intentional

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA publicly censured BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP. Between October 2011 and December 2015 BlueCrest managed external funds for investors as well as an internal fund open only to partners and staff. The FCA found that portfolio managers were moved from the external to the internal fund without the resulting conflict of interest being managed adequately, leaving external investors with an inferior service. Instead of a fine, the FCA took into account BlueCrest's agreement to pay USD 101 million in redress to non-US investors.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

FCA Principle 8 (Interessenkonflikte); section 205 FSMA 2000; section 55L(5) FSMA 2000 (Entschädigungsauflage)

Action

Reprimand or warning

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The FCA fined Sigma Broking Limited £1,087,300. The FCA found that between December 2018 and December 2023 almost all of the firm's transaction reports were incomplete or inaccurate, affecting 924,584 transactions. The cause was a reporting system set up incorrectly from the start, whose errors were not fixed for years. The fine includes a 30% discount.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Art. 26 UK MiFIR; FCA Principle 3; section 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 1,087,300 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 29 Jul 2025.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The PRA fined the London branch of the Luxembourg reinsurer Barents Reinsurance S.A. 1,785,000 GBP – its first fine on a firm operating purely as a reinsurer. Between July 2021 and October 2023 the branch had not prepared adequately for the UK rules applying after Brexit, implemented internal audit recommendations late, lacked proportionate governance and a business continuity plan tailored to its UK business, and submitted regulatory reports late.

Authority / court

Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Bank of England

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

PRA Fundamental Rule 6; Conditions Governing Business 2.3 und 2.6; Reporting 2.1 und 2.5 (PRA Rulebook); s. 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Culpability

negligent

Mitigating circumstances

Early admissions and cooperation (15% reduction) and settlement (30% discount; 2,550,000 GBP without it); substantial remediation costs; in the PRA's view the breaches were neither deliberate nor reckless.

Published

28 Jul 2025

Original amount 1,785,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 24 Jul 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The Bank of England fined Vocalink Limited, a service provider to systemically important payment systems, 11,900,000 GBP – its first fine on a financial market infrastructure firm. Vocalink had not fully implemented a direction of June 2021 to remedy identified weaknesses in its systems and controls by the extended deadline of 28 February 2022, yet confirmed compliance to the Bank. According to the Bank, the causes were an insufficiently integrated risk management framework for the remediation programme and critical assurance reports that were not passed on to the risk function, internal audit and the board.

Authority / court

Bank of England

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

ss. 191 und 196 Banking Act 2009

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Cooperation with early admission (15% reduction) and settlement (a further 30%); 20,000,000 GBP without the reductions; significant investment in remediating the weaknesses.

Published

9 Jul 2025

Original amount 11,900,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 9 Jul 2025.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA fined Infinox Capital Limited £99,200. The FCA found that between October 2022 and March 2023 the firm failed to report to the FCA trades from its single-stock CFD business routed through one corporate account. In total 46,053 transaction reports were missing and were only back-reported in December 2023. The fine includes a 30% settlement discount.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Art. 26(1) UK MiFIR; section 206 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 99,200 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 27 Jan 2025.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

According to the FCA's findings, more than 400 fictitious trades were booked and three key internal controls circumvented on the branch's metals and commodities desk between June 2020 and February 2022, so that losses remained concealed; the bank was partly aware of the weaknesses but did not remedy them in time. Unwinding the positions cost around 57.8 million USD; the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed a fine of around 13 million GBP on the bank.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Organisational requirements

Legal basis

FCA Principles for Businesses, Principle 3 (Systeme und Kontrollen); s. 206 Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Employees

10,000 or more

Original amount 13,031,400 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 26 Nov 2024.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 4 · Direct link

The FCA fined Barclays plc £30 million. The FCA found that during its capital raisings in June and October 2008, Barclays entered into advisory agreements with a Qatari investor group whose fees were linked to their participation in the capital raisings. These fees and the link were not disclosed in announcements, prospectuses and a shareholder circular, which in the FCA's view made them misleading. The FCA found failures to take reasonable care over published information and breaches of the requirements for shareholder circulars. In relation to the October 2008 capital raising, it found that Barclays plc had acted recklessly and had not acted with integrity towards its shareholders (Listing Principle 3). Barclays plc had referred the decision notice of 23 September 2022 to the Upper Tribunal but withdrew the reference on 22 November 2024.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

LR 1.3.3R; LR 13.3.1R(3); Listing Principle 3; section 91 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 30,000,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 25 Nov 2024.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The FCA fined Barclays Bank plc £10 million. The FCA found that, in connection with the October 2008 capital raising, the bank issued financial instruments whose prospectuses did not mention an advisory agreement with a Qatari investor group and the related fees, which in its view made them misleading. The FCA found a failure to take reasonable care over published information; a separate decision was issued against the parent Barclays plc. Barclays Bank plc had referred the decision notice of 23 September 2022 to the Upper Tribunal but withdrew the reference on 22 November 2024.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

Listing Rule 1.3.3R; section 91 FSMA 2000

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Original amount 10,000,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 25 Nov 2024.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 2 · Direct link

The Determinations Panel of The Pensions Regulator imposed penalties of 50,000 GBP each – the statutory maximum – on NOW: Pensions Limited (scheme funder and strategist) and NOW: Pension Trustee Limited (trustee) of the NOW: Pensions Trust master trust. Both had failed to report three series of undelivered statutory communications to members and potential members – according to TPR more than 80,000 communications about automatic enrolment rights – as significant events, and had failed to report two of them as breaches of law in time. It was the first enforcement action against an authorised master trust for reporting failures.

Authority / court

The Pensions Regulator (TPR), Determinations Panel

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

s. 10 Pensions Act 1995; s. 16 Pension Schemes Act 2017; s. 70 Pensions Act 2004; reg. 14 Occupational Pension Schemes (Master Trusts) Regulations 2018

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Mitigating circumstances

Both firms admitted the breaches in a joint statement; the Panel made no finding of a deliberate attempt to conceal the failures; the penalties were paid in full.

Published

18 Jul 2025

Original amount 100,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 22 Nov 2024.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link

The FCA fined a large audit firm £15 million. The FCA found that, while auditing the 2016 accounts of a minibond issuer in autumn 2016, the audit firm encountered a lack of cooperation, aggressive behaviour and misleading information from the company. In the FCA's view, the audit firm should have reported to the FCA that this could be significant for supervision but did not. The issuer entered administration in 2019; investors had bought minibonds with a face value of around £237 million.

Authority / court

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Area of law

Capital markets and financial supervision · Disclosure and reporting obligations

Legal basis

section 345 FSMA 2000 (Pflichten von Abschlussprüfern gegenüber der FCA)

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

final

Sector

Other

Original amount 15,000,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 16 Aug 2024.

Checked against the official source on 28 Sep 2026 · Version 4 · Company name anonymised since 16 Aug 2026 · Direct link