The former CEO of Shard Capital Partners, James Lewis, has been banned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and fined £120,300.

The penalties follow two separate instances of providing incorrect information about clients’ cash, purportedly held by the investment, and the regulator suggested that Lewis’ misconduct “put the market and investors at risk”.

Between June 2015 and May 2017, Lewis told auditors that Shard held hundreds of millions in cash for a particular client. However, these sums were debts owed by another client in the same group.

As well as this, between June and July 2021, the FCA Lewis provided misleading information to a further client purporting that Shard held substantial sums on its behalf. However, that client’s entire cash balance had previously been transferred out of its account.

In both cases, Lewis knew the information he provided would be used to produce the clients’ annual accounts, meaning these accounts were misstated as a result.

“Lewis fell woefully short of the high standards of skill, care and integrity we expect of all those who lead financial firms,” joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, Steve Smart, said.

“Investors depend on accurate information, and Lewis’ actions put investors at significant risk of losses. It is right that he won’t be allowed to work in regulated financial services again.

As the FCA was considering the first of these instances, Shard became aware of the second and notified the regulator in September 2023. Subsequently, Lewis also reported his conduct to the FCA.

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