%20logo%20in%20front%20of%20a%20set%20of%20stairs_id_9646796d-1d8e-4dd4-ae17-d8191393362c_size900.jpg "FCA Fines Banque Havilland £10M for Qatar-Targeted ‘Manipulative Trading’ Doc")
British financial watchdog has
slammed a £10M on Banque Havilland S.A., a Luxembourg-headquartered private
bank, for allegedly creating and disseminating a document which contained
‘improper advice’ for potential clients. The UK Financial Conduct Authority
(FCA) also imposed separate fines on three former employees of the bank’s London branch.
According to FCA, the ex-staff members include Edmund Rowland,
David Weller and Vladimir Bolelyy, who are former CEO, Senior Manager and employee, respectively of
the bank’s London branch. The regulator fined them £352,000, £54,000 and
£14,200, respectively. It also banned them from working in financial services in
the UK.
FCA’s latest action comes after an October 2021 warning notice the regulator issued to Banque Havilland SA and
‘certain individuals’ previously employed by the private bank with regards to a
breach of its principles for businesses.
In the notice, the British
regulator accused Banque Havilland of being the mastermind of a document that
“set out a number of steps which could be taken to harm the economy of Qatar by
using manipulative trading practices aimed at creating a false, or misleading,
impression as to the market in or the price of Qatari bonds.”
FCA Alleges Scheme to Devalue
Qatari Riyal
In a statement released on Friday, FCA noted that it believes
that the goal of Banque Havilland with the document was to devalue the Qatari
Riyal and break its peg to the US dollar in order to hurt the economy of the
Middle East country.
The financial markets supervisor
noted that the document was created by Bolelyy on the order of Rowland and with
significant contribution from Weller. It further noted that Rowland and Bolelyy distributed the document, including by providing a
copy to a representative of an Abu Dhabi
sovereign wealth fund.
“Banque Havilland intended to
present the document to representatives of countries it considered might have
reasons to want to put economic pressure on Qatar, including the United Arab
Emirates, as a way of marketing its services,” FCA explained.
However, the British watchdog
noted that it has not found evidence that the strategy mentioned in the
document was executed. It described the strategy as ‘manipulative trading’ that
could have been a criminal offence if done in the UK.
“Banque Havilland’s conduct
actively encouraged the commission of financial crime, providing ideas for
manipulative trading to someone it saw as having the political motivation to be
potentially interested in such ideas,” said Therese Chambers, Executive
Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA. “It barely needs
stating, but such conduct is completely unacceptable.”
However, the regulator pointed
out that its decision with regards to the fines has been referred to the Upper
Tribunal, a superior appellate court in the UK, by Banque Havilland, Rowland and Bolelyy.
Meanwhile, the British watchdog
has continued its crackdown on cryptocurrency ATMs in the
country. It recently took action against such sites in Exeter, Nottingham, and
Sheffield, thereby expanding its earlier crackdown against such facilities in East
London.
British financial watchdog has
slammed a £10M on Banque Havilland S.A., a Luxembourg-headquartered private
bank, for allegedly creating and disseminating a document which contained
‘improper advice’ for potential clients. The UK Financial Conduct Authority
(FCA) also imposed separate fines on three former employees of the bank’s London branch.
According to FCA, the ex-staff members include Edmund Rowland,
David Weller and Vladimir Bolelyy, who are former CEO, Senior Manager and employee, respectively of
the bank’s London branch. The regulator fined them £352,000, £54,000 and
£14,200, respectively. It also banned them from working in financial services in
the UK.
FCA’s latest action comes after an October 2021 warning notice the regulator issued to Banque Havilland SA and
‘certain individuals’ previously employed by the private bank with regards to a
breach of its principles for businesses.
In the notice, the British
regulator accused Banque Havilland of being the mastermind of a document that
“set out a number of steps which could be taken to harm the economy of Qatar by
using manipulative trading practices aimed at creating a false, or misleading,
impression as to the market in or the price of Qatari bonds.”
FCA Alleges Scheme to Devalue
Qatari Riyal
In a statement released on Friday, FCA noted that it believes
that the goal of Banque Havilland with the document was to devalue the Qatari
Riyal and break its peg to the US dollar in order to hurt the economy of the
Middle East country.
The financial markets supervisor
noted that the document was created by Bolelyy on the order of Rowland and with
significant contribution from Weller. It further noted that Rowland and Bolelyy distributed the document, including by providing a
copy to a representative of an Abu Dhabi
sovereign wealth fund.
“Banque Havilland intended to
present the document to representatives of countries it considered might have
reasons to want to put economic pressure on Qatar, including the United Arab
Emirates, as a way of marketing its services,” FCA explained.
However, the British watchdog
noted that it has not found evidence that the strategy mentioned in the
document was executed. It described the strategy as ‘manipulative trading’ that
could have been a criminal offence if done in the UK.
“Banque Havilland’s conduct
actively encouraged the commission of financial crime, providing ideas for
manipulative trading to someone it saw as having the political motivation to be
potentially interested in such ideas,” said Therese Chambers, Executive
Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA. “It barely needs
stating, but such conduct is completely unacceptable.”
However, the regulator pointed
out that its decision with regards to the fines has been referred to the Upper
Tribunal, a superior appellate court in the UK, by Banque Havilland, Rowland and Bolelyy.
Meanwhile, the British watchdog
has continued its crackdown on cryptocurrency ATMs in the
country. It recently took action against such sites in Exeter, Nottingham, and
Sheffield, thereby expanding its earlier crackdown against such facilities in East
London.