The Upper Tribunal has overturned a ban issued by the FCA to Andrew Wilkins, a director of Catalyst Investment Group.
In August 2013, the FCA fined chief executive and director of the company, Timothy Roberts, £450,000 and imposed a full prohibition on him. Mr Wilkins was fined £100,000 and prohibited from undertaking significant influence functions.
The Upper Tribunal decided that Mr Wilkins’s fine should be reduced to £50,000 though Mr Roberts’s punishment remains unchanged.
Catalyst was the UK distributor of bonds issued by Arm Asset Backed Securities.
Arm was a securitisation vehicle based in Luxembourg which issued bonds and used the proceeds to invest in traded life assurance policies (also known as senior life settlement policies). Its bond programme was registered with the Irish Stock Exchange and traded on its regulated market.
According to the FCA, Arm understood that it needed a licence to issue bonds from the Luxembourg regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, but did not have one.
The City regulator said Mr Roberts and Mr Wilkins allowed Catalyst to provide misleading information about Arm ABS’s licence position in a letter to IFAs in December 2009. Mr Roberts also approved a letter to investors containing misleading information about Arm ABS’s licence position in March 2010.
