FCA fines and enforcement actions in 2025

Russel Gerrity, an oil‑rig consultant, was fined £309,843 by the FCA for insider dealing. Between October 2018 and January 2022 he used non‑public exploration information to trade shares in Chariot Oil & Gas Limited and Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Plc (making a net gain of £128,765 and on one occasion avoiding a loss). The FCA found breaches of Article 14(a) of the UK Market Abuse Regulations; Gerrity accepted the matter and qualified for a 30% stage‑1 settlement discount (the undiscounted penalty would have been £387,448).

In December 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined Nationwide Building Society £44,078,500 for weaknesses in its financial crime controls between October 2016 and July 2021. Nationwide did not keep customer due diligence and risk assessments up to date for its personal current account customers, and its transaction monitoring was ineffective; it also knew some customers were running businesses through personal accounts in breach of its terms but had no proper process to manage the extra risk. In one serious case the society missed chances to spot a customer using personal accounts to receive over £27m in fraudulent Covid furlough payments. Nationwide, which had reported the problems itself and cooperated, agreed to settle and received a 30% discount; the fine would otherwise have been £62,969,297.

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).

The FCA fined Neil Sedgwick Dwane £100,281 and prohibited him from working in UK financial services for insider dealing. While working as an adviser to ITM Power in 2022 he had inside information about an announcement planned for 27 October, sold 125,000 shares (his and a family member’s) the day before and then bought 180,000 shares after the price fell, making a £26,575 benefit. The FCA said he was required to obtain ITM’s permission before dealing but did not, and he qualified for a 30% (stage 1) settlement discount. The sanction was for breaches of the Market Abuse Regulation (insider dealing) in the issuer sector and was recorded on the FCA register.

The FCA prosecuted Taunton-based Nicholas Harper. He pleaded guilty on 1 September 2025 to encouraging or assisting an offence under the Data Protection Act; following a retrial at Southwark Crown Court a jury on 19 September 2025 acquitted him of conspiracy to defraud and of carrying on regulated activity without FCA authorisation. Harper was fined £100 and ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge (total £130). The FCA brought the prosecution; no firm was the subject of the enforcement action.

The FCA found that Diego Urra committed market abuse and market manipulation and failed to act with integrity, concluding he lacked the fitness and propriety required for his role in the investment bank sector. On 5 August 2025 the regulator fined him £223,400 and imposed a prohibition. The action was taken under the Market Abuse Regulations and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The FCA published a Final Notice setting out the breaches and the sanctions.

On 5 August 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined Jorge Lopez Gonzalez £100,000 and imposed a prohibition. The FCA’s Final Notice records breaches of the Market Abuse Regulations and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 relating to market abuse/market manipulation, failures to act with integrity and a lack of fitness and propriety in the investment‑bank sector. The regulator is the FCA and the full Final Notice is published by the FCA.

On 5 August 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority fined individual Poojan Sheth £57,600 and imposed a prohibition. The FCA’s Final Notice says Sheth breached the Market Abuse Regulation and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: conduct included market abuse and market manipulation, failing to act with integrity and a lack of fitness and propriety in the investment bank sector. The action was against the individual (not their employer); full details are in the FCA Final Notice linked below.

The Financial Conduct Authority fined Sigma Broking Limited (FRN 485362) £1,087,300 for breaches of MiFIR and Principle 3 (the requirement to act with due skill, care and diligence). Sigma agreed to resolve the matter through the FCA’s executive settlement procedures and qualified for a 30% discount; without that discount the fine would have been £1,553,300. The action appears on the FCA register dated 2025-07-29 and is recorded in the FCA’s final notice linked below.

On 25 July 2025 the FCA issued a Final Notice fining individual Jean‑Noel Alba £1,049,500 and imposing a prohibition. The notice records breaches of APER 1 and 4 (rules in the Appointed Representatives sourcebook governing obligations of appointed representatives and their oversight) and Individual Conduct Rules 1 and 3 — Rule 1 requires acting with integrity and Rule 3 requires dealing with the FCA openly and cooperatively. The action was taken by the Financial Conduct Authority; the FCA Final Notice is published at the 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 16 July 2025 the FCA fined Barclays Bank UK PLC £3,093,600 for failures in its account‑opening procedures for a client money account used by WealthTek, concluding the bank had inadequate risk‑management systems. The FCA said Barclays breached Principle 3 (firms must organise and control their affairs responsibly and effectively) and SYSC 6.1.1R (requirement to have effective systems and controls). Barclays also agreed to make a voluntary payment of £6,281,757 to WealthTek clients and the FCA said the bank’s extensive co‑operation and that redress were taken into account in reducing the penalty.

On 14 July 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority fined Barclays Bank Plc £39,314,700 for breaching Principle 2 (firms must act with due skill, care and diligence). The FCA found that between 9 January 2015 and 23 April 2021 Barclays failed to identify, assess, monitor and manage adequately the money‑laundering risks arising from the provision of banking services to one corporate banking customer.

The FCA fined individual Markos Theodosi Markou £10,000 and imposed a prohibition, recorded on 10 July 2025. The Final Notice was issued after the Supreme Court refused his application to appeal the Court of Appeal judgment of 17 December 2024. The FCA found he breached Statement of Principle 1 (Integrity) in the mortgages sector—Principle 1 requires approved persons to act with integrity. The sanction was against Mr Markou personally, not a firm.

In July 2025 the FCA fined Monzo Bank £21,091,300 for inadequate anti-financial crime systems and controls between October 2018 and August 2020, and for repeatedly breaching a requirement it had agreed with the regulator (a "VREQ") not to open accounts for high-risk customers between August 2020 and June 2022. Monzo's customer base grew almost tenfold, from around 600,000 in 2018 to over 5.8 million in 2022, but its onboarding checks, customer risk assessments and transaction monitoring did not keep pace: customers were able to open accounts using obviously implausible addresses such as Buckingham Palace, and more than 34,000 high-risk customers were signed up while the restriction was in force. Monzo agreed to settle and qualified for a 30% discount; without it the fine would have been £30,130,475.

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.

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 30 May 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority issued a Final Notice finding that Toni Fox breached PRIN 1 (which requires firms and individuals to act with integrity and due skill, care and diligence) and provided inappropriate pension transfer advice. The FCA fined her £567,584, withdrew her regulatory approvals and imposed a prohibition order. The action is recorded on the FCA register and the regulator's Final Notice sets out the findings and sanctions.

On 30 May 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority fined individual adviser David Brian Price £465,415 after finding he provided inappropriate pension transfer advice and breached PRIN 1. PRIN 1 requires firms and individuals to act with integrity and due skill, care and diligence and to treat customers fairly. The FCA’s Final Notice also withdrew his regulatory approvals and imposed a prohibition order; the notice (linked below) gives the FCA’s full findings and the period of the misconduct.

The FCA fined the London Metal Exchange £9,245,900 for breaches of REC 2.5.1 (para 3(1) and 3(2)(h)) and MiFID RTS 7 (Article 18(3) and (4)). Broadly, the FCA found the LME failed to have in place and operate adequate arrangements, systems and controls a recognised body must have to prevent or address disorderly trading and to apply suspension/removal safeguards. The penalty is recorded as 'after settlement' on the FCA register (the sanction was agreed with the regulator); the FCA final notice sets out the factual and temporal detail of the breaches.

The FCA fined Mako Financial Markets Partnership LLP £1,662,700 after finding that between 16 December 2013 and 16 November 2015 the firm did not have, and did not adequately apply, policies and procedures to identify and address the risk of being used to facilitate financial crime and money laundering in relation to business introduced by the Solo Group. The regulator concluded Mako breached Principle 2 (firms must act with due skill, care and diligence) and Principle 3 (firms must take reasonable care to organise and control their affairs responsibly and effectively). Mako agreed to resolve all issues of fact and liability; the FCA's action took effect on 17 February 2025 and is set out in the Final Notice linked below.

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).

The FCA found that Arian Financial LLP failed to have effective anti‑financial‑crime systems and controls between 29 January 2015 and 29 September 2015, putting the firm at risk of being used to support fraudulent trading and money‑laundering for clients of four authorised entities (the Solo Group). The FCA imposed a financial penalty but Arian admitted liability and referred the proposed fine to the Upper Tribunal; the Tribunal decided on 11 November 2024 to reduce the FCA’s penalty from £744,745 to £288,962.52, and the FCA’s Final Notice took effect on 9 January 2025. (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 with adequate risk management and systems.)