In a major victory for the FCA last week, the Upper Tribunal upheld FCA’s decision to ban Jes Staley, former CEO of Barclays, from holding senior management roles in the financial services industry.
“Mr Staley approved a letter sent to the FCA that contained misleading statements about the nature of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and their last point of contact,” the regulator said.
“The letter claimed that Mr Staley did not have a close relationship with Mr Epstein. In reality, in emails between the two, Mr Staley described Mr Epstein as one of his ‘deepest’ and ‘most cherished’ friends,” the press release added.
The FCA’s main argument and allegation against Mr Staley was that he “acted recklessly when he signed off the letter.” The Tribunal agreed with the FCA’s argument and its decision to ban Mr. Staley.
Commenting on Staley’s actions, Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “He hoped that the truth would never come to light and that he would get away with it. Such a serious lack of integrity flies in the face of the requirements we place on those at the top.”
The Tribunal however reduced the original £1.8m ($2.46m) fine imposed on Mr. Staley by the FCA to £1.1m ($1.5m) because “Barclays decided not to permit Mr Staley to receive deferred shares to which he could have been entitled,” the regulator said.
Also last week, the Upper Tribunal upheld the FCA’s decision to ban Diego Urra, Jorge Lopez Gonzalez and Poojan Sheth from working in financial services.
The three individuals have also been fined £223,400 ($305,247), £100,000 ($136,501) and £57,600 ($78,702) respectively, according to an FCA press release.
“The FCA found that Mr Urra, Mr Lopez and Mr Sheth engaged in market manipulation when trading in Italian Government Bond futures (BTP futures) from 1 June 2016 to 29 July 2016.”
In another enforcement action last week, the FCA announced it had secured a guilty plea from John Burford in a £1m ($1.37m) investor fraud scheme.
“As sole director of Financial Trading Strategies Limited, Mr Burford promoted a paid-for subscription service through its website to offer daily trade alerts with investment advice, and the opportunity to invest in three self-named ‘tramline’ funds,” an FCA press release said.
“Mr Burford took money from over 100 investors and advised on and managed investments without FCA authorization. He made over £1m in the process, which he used to buy a property and fund his living expenses,” the press release added.
The FCA has accused Burford of repeatedly “lying to investors about how much the funds were worth and hid the full extent of the losses he had incurred while trading.”
He will be sentenced at a later date at Southwark Crown Court, and the FCA has said it will also “seek confiscation orders to deprive him of his ill-gotten gains and return monies to investors.”
Regulation
In another major development at the FCA last week, the regulator announced “once-in-a-generation” changes to current financial advice services to help millions navigate their financial lives.
“Millions more people could get help navigating their financial lives with support on pensions and investments, under proposals announced by the FCA,” the regulator said.
Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive of the FCA, said: “We want to help consumers navigate their financial lives and plan for the long term. Some of the most difficult financial decisions we face are how to save, invest and prepare for a comfortable retirement.”
You can read our more detailed article explaining what the changes mean, and how the FCA plans to implement them.
Also last week, the FCA confirmed new rules in order to tackle non-financial misconduct in the financial services sector beyond banks.
The regulator indicated that, by aligning conduct rules as applicable to banks and non-bank regulated firms, it wants to:
- give firms confidence to take robust action against serious misconduct;
- drive consistency across the financial sector; and
- make it clearer when NFM can be a breach of FCA rules.
We have covered the story in more detail in a separate article, discussing the scope and implementation of the new rules.
In an effort to streamline and digitalize its operations, the FCA last week announced the launch of a new and improved Handbook website.
According to the watchdog: “The new website has all the features users are familiar with, but makes it easier to:
- navigate and find the information you need
- understand the connections between our rules
- compare different versions of Handbook text to see what’s been added or deleted over time”
Speeches
Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive of the FCA, delivered a speech at the Investment Association’s Private Markets Summit on 2 July 2025.
Highlights included:
“Private markets are growing in importance and have significant potential to drive innovation and economic growth. But to grow sustainably and earn investor confidence, the risks and opportunities must be illuminated.- “The FCA is supporting this effort through work to improve understanding of key areas such as valuations and leverage, including at international level. It’s clear that stronger data will be key.
- “This reflects the FCA’s shift towards outcomes-focused regulation: giving firms more freedom to innovate, while making sure investors have the clarity they need to make informed decisions.”
And Jessica Rusu, FCA chief data, information and intelligence officer, delivered a speech at the AI and Digital Innovation Summit as part of City Week 2025 1 July 2025.
Highlights included:
“Innovation is central to our new strategy and will help us deliver on all four of the pillars including growth.- “We’re already seeing firms that want to come and test through the Supercharged Sandbox.
- “We’ve received broad support for AI Live Testing and remain of the view that firms can be developing AI services, without new rules from us.”
