By Ilaria Grasso Macola
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has slapped City stock broker Sigma with a £531,000 fine after it failed to identify 97 suspicious transactions.
The watchdog also found the firm guilty of inadequately reporting 56,000 contracts for difference – an insurance tool used by market participants – between December 2014 and August 2016.
Both former and current managers have also been fined, as the FCA believed Sigma’s failures stemmed from the board’s inadequate governance.
Former chief executive and director Simon Tyson was fined £67,900, while ex-director Stephen Tomlin received a £69,600 fine.
Current director Matthew Kent was slapped with a £83,600 penalty.
Both Tyson and Tomlin were also prohibited from holding managerial positions in firms regulated by the FCA.
“Accurate transaction reporting and effective surveillance are crucial tools in identifying dodgy dealing that undermines clean markets,” said FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight Mark Steward.
“These bans and the scale of the fines we have imposed demonstrate our determination to ensure firms – and those who lead them – meet the reporting standards we expect.”
Commenting on the watchdog’s decision, Kam Dhillon, principal associate at law firm Gowling WLG, said: “This clearly demonstrates the priority of the FCA in preventing, detecting and punishing market abuse.
“Firms are required to have effective systems and controls, which are robust to mitigate against risks to market integrity, and also to discharge their legal and regulatory obligations.
“Failure to do so would expose a firm to enforcement action by the FCA.”
Sigma declined to comment.
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