Regulatory Financial Conduct Lawyers

When a financial regulator begins an investigation into your firm, the stakes are exceptionally high. The pressure on the financial services industry to maintain strict regulatory compliance is constant, as regulators like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) possess wide-ranging powers to inspect, interview and penalise authorised firms and individuals, including the power to bring criminal prosecutions.

At JMW, we specialise in protecting and defending businesses during CMA, PRA and FCA investigations and prosecutions. Thanks to our years of experience in representing businesses in interactions with their regulators, we provide expert counsel and representation that can minimise the risk of enforcement action and enable you to maintain compliance. In more serious cases where businesses and senior managers are facing allegations of misconduct or ongoing scrutiny, we offer the strategic support necessary to manage these high-pressure situations.

Seek specialist legal advice from the experienced regulatory team at JMW if you are facing FCA proceedings. Call us on 0345 872 6666 or use our online enquiry form to request a call back at your convenience.

How JMW Can Help

JMW's regulatory investigation solicitors advise on risk management, policies that will enable your organisation to fulfil its legal obligations and the duties of individual stakeholders. We will also act quickly to provide a direct, strategic response to any regulatory intervention. We will manage every aspect of the process, from responding to initial information requests to representing you in the criminal courts or before the Regulatory Decisions Committee.

Regulatory investigations can be lengthy and create challenges for your business, but the right solicitor can coordinate your response and sometimes bring the process to an early conclusion. Our team possesses vast experience in dealing with enforcement by the CMA, FCA and PRA, and will provide tailored guidance on:

• Responding to information requests
• Preparing for compelled interviews
• Defending allegations of market abuse and insider dealing
• Managing the risks of public censures and reputational damage
• Money laundering, fraud prevention and financial crime compliance

JMW's award-nominated team has extensive experience in financial matters and in representing businesses during regulatory procedures. We work to identify procedural failings or evidential gaps that others overlook, so that UK insurance providers, mortgage lenders, building societies and fintech companies can grow and develop in compliance with their legal obligations. We also have experience in advising individuals on their regulatory duties and representing directors and other senior individuals where they may have personal liability during an investigation.

Meet Our Team

JMW's experienced Financial Conduct Authority defence team consists of specialist solicitors with a proven track record of defending complex regulatory and criminal cases within the financial services sector. Our experience in the sector and knowledge of the regulator's requirements enables us to support compliance and risk management, and offer defence services where necessary.

What Triggers FCA Investigations or Enforcement Proceedings?

The FCA exists to regulate financial markets in the UK, and was created in 2013 to replace the Financial Services Authority. The FCA's principles for business demand high standards of integrity and conduct, and when they are not met, the regulator can move from supervision to enforcement.

This can happen for a number of reasons, such as signs of serious misconduct, consumer harm, market harm or poor systems and controls. Common triggers include:

• Supervisory concerns escalating after reviews, visits, data returns or failed remediation.
• Consumer complaints or patterns showing unfair treatment, unsuitable advice, mis-selling or poor outcomes.
• Whistleblower reports or intelligence from employees or third parties.
• Market abuse indicators, such as insider dealing, suspicious trading, manipulation or suspicious transaction and order reports.
• Financial crime concerns like weak anti-money laundering (AML) controls, poor compliance with sanctions, fraud, or inadequate due diligence.
• Reported breaches of FCA rules or principles.
• Unauthorised business, scams or regulated activity carried on without permission.
• Serious individual misconduct, including fitness and propriety concerns under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime.

The FCA determines whether to proceed with a case based on whether it views that enforcement action would protect consumers, support market integrity, reduce financial crime or act as a deterrent. The regulator is increasingly data-led and proactive, with the financial services industry in general under more pressure than ever to demonstrate compliance with the law.

As such, it is vital to seek legal advice at your earliest opportunity if you are contacted by the regulator or informed of a potential investigation. The FCA can impose financial penalties, public censure, bans/prohibitions, and launch criminal, civil or regulatory proceedings where it views this as necessary. However, the right legal approach from the outset can minimise any risk of enforcement proceedings and enable you to demonstrate compliance during the initial investigation stages.

What Matters Are Investigated by Financial Regulators?

CMA, FCA and PRA investigations stem from suspected regulated activities conducted without proper authorisation or breaches of the conduct rules. We represent firms and individuals facing allegations including:

Market abuse and insider dealing

As a law firm with a wealth of experience in this sector, JMW offers specialist guidance in complex cases involving allegations of market manipulation or the misuse of sensitive information. Insider dealing is a serious matter that can lead to both civil penalties and criminal prosecution, but we provide expert legal advice to enable you to manage these dual-track investigations whether the matter is heard in the criminal courts or via administrative proceedings.

Mis-selling and financial crime

We address claims regarding the unsuitable sale of products by investment advisors or other financial services providers. Additionally, our expert regulatory solicitors can defend your organisation against allegations of fraud, money laundering and breaches of international sanctions. Because some regulators can withdraw a firm's authorisation, effectively ending its ability to trade, you should seek professional assistance from our team at the earliest opportunity when you become aware of criminal allegations.

The scope of such investigations can be vast. Whether the issue relates to the conduct of approved persons or systemic failings within a firm’s AML framework, we provide the comprehensive defence needed to mitigate risks. We understand that for many fintech companies and insurance providers, the mere existence of an investigation into financial crime can be catastrophic for banking relationships and investor confidence. As a full service law firm, JMW can also advise on reputation management in these cases to protect your relationships wherever possible.

What Is the Process of a Regulatory Investigation?

Each regulator takes a different approach to investigations, but their aims will typically be to gather evidence, determine whether to prosecute any offences, and decide on any suitable sanctions to impose.

FCA investigations

When the FCA's enforcement division begins an investigation, it often starts with statutory information requests. Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the regulator has the power to compel the production of documents and information, and failing to comply with these requests can be a criminal offence. As such, information requests require a precise and strategic response, as information should be accurate and contextualised to prevent the enforcement division from drawing incorrect conclusions based on incomplete data.

JMW can manage the release of information on your behalf to ensure you meet your legal obligations without inadvertently compromising your position. We guide clients through rigorous compelled interviews, ensuring they understand their rights and the potential implications of their evidence. Our role is to provide a robust safeguard from the first point of contact with the regulator, preventing unnecessary escalation where possible.

If the FCA intends to take enforcement action, it will usually issue a warning notice and refer the matter to the Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC), a separate body that enables independence in the decision-making process. We can prepare written submissions for you and provide oral representations to contest the FCA's findings. Our goal is to persuade the RDC that enforcement action is not warranted. This can often reduce the risk of significant financial penalties or public censures for your organisation.

A review by the RDC is often the first stage at which an independent party reviews the evidence gathered by the enforcement division, and is an opportunity to highlight procedural errors, evidential gaps and mitigating factors that can minimise penalties. Whether we are arguing against the withdrawal of authorisation or fighting to reduce significant financial penalties, our approach is always direct and focused on achieving the best possible outcome for our clients.

Depending on the RDC's decision, you may have the right to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber). The Upper Tribunal is an independent judicial body that re-examines the case, and we offer legal support during this appeals process where procedural errors or new evidence could lead to a different outcome.

CMA investigations

The process used by the Competition and Markets Authority depends on whether the CMA is investigating anti-competitive conduct, a merger, consumer law breaches or problems affecting an entire market under the Competition Act 1998. It will carry out an initial assessment and then begin to gather evidence formally in most cases.

The CMA will hold state-of-play meetings during the investigation, to explain its emerging thinking to the parties and allow them to raise factual, legal or procedural issues. Where the CMA provisionally considers that competition law has been breached, it issues a statement setting out the alleged infringement, supporting evidence and proposed findings. This is not yet a final decision, but represents a further opportunity to make representations and mount a defence.

After considering your responses and the relevant evidence, the CMA may find that no infringement occurred and close the case, or issue an infringement decision. It can order the conduct to stop, impose behavioural directions and fine a business up to the applicable statutory maximum.

Merger investigations follow a different, two-stage structure. Phase 1 examines whether the transaction may substantially lessen competition, and cases that raise significant concerns can proceed to a more detailed Phase 2 inquiry unless suitable remedies are accepted. The eventual outcome may be clearance of the merger, clearance subject to remedies, or prohibition of the merger.

For consumer law cases, the CMA can now investigate and determine certain breaches directly under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, including issuing provisional findings, receiving representations and imposing enforcement measures and financial penalties without first bringing civil court proceedings. As such, it is vital to contact a solicitor as soon as possible when facing these investigations.

PRA investigations

A Prudential Regulation Authority investigation will usually begin when the PRA becomes aware of a possible breach, whether through its supervisory work, a firm’s self-report, whistleblowing, information from another regulator or another source. It considers whether there is a legal basis for an investigation and whether formal investigation is a proportionate response.

If the matter proceeds, investigators are appointed and the firm or individual will normally receive a Notice of Appointment explaining the scope and basis of the investigation. The PRA will usually arrange a scoping meeting to outline its concerns, explain the process and discuss its information requirements. Once the investigation begins, investigators can use statutory powers to require documents and information, compel attendance at interviews and obtain evidence from third parties or other regulators. Failure to comply with a formal requirement may itself result in sanctions, so you should consult a solicitor if you need legal support during this process.

The evidence will be reviewed, and the investigators will then make recommendations. The PRA may close the case, pursue supervisory action, seek an enforcement sanction, open further investigations or begin settlement discussions. In a contested case, preliminary findings will normally be shared with the subject for comment before referral to the Enforcement Decision Making Committee.

Possible outcomes include no further action, supervisory requirements, a financial penalty, public censure, restrictions or suspension of a firm’s permissions, disciplinary action against an individual, or a prohibition order.

Can an FCA Investigation Lead to a Criminal Prosecution?

The FCA is a prosecuting authority. It can initiate criminal proceedings for serious cases involving fraud, insider dealing and money laundering, and a criminal conviction can lead to imprisonment and significant unlimited fines.

Where necessary, JMW represents clients in the criminal courts and will provide a sophisticated defence against the FCA’s prosecution. We understand the interplay between administrative regulatory breaches and criminal offences, and our experience in this area allows us to manage the dual threat of regulatory and criminal action effectively.

When the FCA pursues a criminal prosecution, it often utilises its extensive powers to conduct searches and seize assets. We provide immediate support during dawn raids and can coordinate a response that puts your defence forward. We have the expertise to challenge the admissibility of evidence and to represent your interests through every stage of the criminal process, from the initial interview under caution to trial in the Magistrates' Court or Crown Court.