FCA fines firm £2m for serious financial crime control failings

The TJM Partnership Limited has been handed a £2m fine by the FCA for failing to ensure it had effective controls in place to reduce the risk of financial crime and money laundering in its business.

This is the third case brought by the FCA in relation to cum-ex trading and the largest fine so far, which the regulator said reflects the “multiple examples of serious misconduct” over a lengthy period.

TJM, which is in liquidation, was found to not have adequate systems to identify and mitigate the risk of being used to facilitate fraudulent trading and money laundering in relation to trading on behalf of clients of the Solo Group between January 2014 and November 2015. It also failed to adequately apply its anti-money laundering policies and did not properly monitor the risk of financial crime.

Trading executed by TJM on behalf of the Solo Group’s clients throughout the period was characterised by a circular pattern of purported trades – characteristics which the FCA stated are “highly suggestive” of financial crime. The trading appears to have been carried out to allow the arranging of withholding tax reclaims in Denmark and Belgium.

TJM executed trading to the value of approximately £59bn in Danish equities and £20bn in Belgian equities, and received commission of £1.4m – a significant proportion of the firm’s revenue in the period.

The firm was also found to have failed to identify money laundering risks in two other instances related to Solo Group business. This involved transactions with no apparent economic purpose except to transfer substantial windfall profits of €4.3m amongst its clients, the regulator stated.

FCA executive director of enforcement and market oversight, Mark Steward, said: “TJM allowed itself to become involved in a self-evidently suspicious scheme of circular transactions that looked like shams. TJM demonstrated a complete lack of care and diligence in participating in these transactions of dubious purpose.”

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.


Helping the credit challenged get mortgage ready
A rising number of borrowers are finding it harder to access mortgages due to being credit challenged - whether that’s from historic debts, a county court judgment, or having little to no credit history.

In the latest episode of the Mortgage Insider podcast, Phil Spencer is joined by Eloise Hall, Head of National Accounts at Kensington Mortgages, and Alastair Douglas, CEO of TotallyMoney.


Inside the world of high net worth lending
The mortgage market continues to evolve, and so too does the answer to the question: what is a high net worth individual in today’s market? In this episode of the Mortgage Insider podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Stephen Moroukian, Head of Product and Proposition for Real Estate Financing at Barclays Private Bank, and Islay Robinson, founder and CEO of Enness Global. Together, they explore what brokers really need to know when supporting high net worth individuals.

The future of the bridging industry and the Autumn Budget
MoneyAge content editor, Dan McGrath, is joined by head of marketing at Black & White Bridging, Matt Horton, to discuss the bridging industry, the impact of the Autumn Budget and what the future holds for the sector.