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19
Nov
Local man fined £6,000 after financial advice firm breaches FCA requirement
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined and banned a local man after his firm breached an asset requirement.
Craig Buchan is a former partner of MedDen Financial Services LLP, which primarily offered financial advice to medical and dental practices.
The FCA imposed an asset requirement on MedDen in December 2020, which means the firm was prohibited from diminishing the value of its own assets.
It said the asset requirement was imposed to safeguard MedDen’s assets for the benefit of its customers who were owed redress for financial losses suffered because of advice they had received.
But just a day after the FCA imposed the asset requirement on MedDen, which is not as restrictive as an asset freezing order or an injunction, Buchan withdrew money from the company's bank account.
The FCA said Buchan transferred a total of £9,292.36 from the bank account between December 15 and 21. He sent £4,647 to his personal bank account and £4,650 to his co-partner's, Martin Cooke, personal account.
This meant the bank account held no funds for clients owed redress, the FCA said, adding the pair then failed to report this breach to the authority.
Both Buchan and Cooke have been banned from taking on any roles in relation to regulated activities in financial services, and were fined £6,037 and £6,020 respectively.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said:
We are committed to upholding the highest standards in the financial services sector to protect consumers from misconduct.
We use our powers to impose asset requirements to protect consumers from the risk that bad actors may dissipate funds that should be earmarked for redress. We take any attempt to circumvent this very seriously and we will not allow those involved to remain active in the industry.
'The money was to pay staff'
The Stray Ferret contacted Craig Buchan for comment. He told us liquidators were appointed around the same time as the incident, adding:
The money was withdrawn to pay staff. We were advised to do that by liquidators Cromwell and Co.
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