Writing for Professional Adviser (free membership available), Employment partner Charlie Thompson looks at recent investigations into FCA executives and key takeaways.
In August, the FCA’s chair Ashley Alder came in for criticism after being accused of revealing the identity of an anonymous whistleblower. This was despite its own policy stating that a whistleblower’s “identity will not be revealed without [their] consent.”
A report by the senior independent director on the FCA board (Richard Lloyd) later concluded that Alder “did not follow the policy to the letter” but stopped short of further criticism. Some commentators wondered whether the FCA would be so understanding if the same had happened at a firm overseen by the FCA (criticisms in the comment sections on news websites were less restrained).
This case came after the Financial Regulators Complaints Commissioner filed a report on an investigation into former FCA director of enforcement and market oversight Mark Steward, upholding complaints that he had behaved in an “aggressive, unpleasant and bullying” manner; only for the Commissioner to then admit failure to investigate properly and a full withdrawal of the report.
Although both high profile examples, this is a common scenario – an organisation investigates a complaint, which is itself a serious matter, and then faces further criticism for how it has conducted the investigation. Investigations can have a habit of necessitating further investigations, while the organisation gets further enmired in complexity and recrimination. All the while, stakeholders increasingly lose confidence.
"Investigations can have a habit of necessitating further investigations."
Charlie Thompson
Although each case turns on its own facts, there are some principles which are useful in any internal investigation: read the full article on Professional Adviser’s website to learn more.
You can find further information regarding our expertise, experience and team on our Employment page.
If you require assistance from our team, please contact us.
Subscribe – In order to receive our news straight to your inbox, subscribe here. Our newsletters are sent no more than once a month.