The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned and fined Floris Jakobus Huisamen, a former Director at the now defunct London Capital & Finance plc (LCF), for his role in approving misleading financial promotions that led to the losses for thousands of retail investors.

Former LCF Director Banned and Fined over Misleading Financial Promotions

The FCA issued a fine of £31,800 to Huisamen and banned him from working in financial services over his "reckless" approval of LCF promotions while being the Head of Compliance . Huisamen consented to a settlement , thus receiving a 30% reduction in his fine. Had this discount not been applied, the fine would have amounted to £45,500.

The promotions presented LCF mini-bonds as a far more attractive investment than they actually were, failing to adequately disclose risks like hidden fees and unsustainable lending practices.

Despite his own concerns, Huisamen did not adequately scrutinize or challenge the claims in the promotions, did not obtain evidence to support them, and allowed misleading suggestions that the mini-bonds were FCA-regulated. He continued signing off on inaccurate promotions even after becoming aware of problems.

The FCA Enforcement Director, Therese Chambers, stated that Huisamen's approval process became "an ineffective tick-box exercise" that misled investors into losing money. The FCA said the failings warrant his exclusion from the industry.

“Thousands of investors were persuaded to invest on the basis of highly misleading statements. It is right that he can no longer work in financial services,” Chambers added.

Thousands Harmed and FCA's Censorship

The FCA recently took disciplinary action against LCF for its deceptive promotional activities, choosing not to levy a fine due to the firm's bankruptcy. These promotions misled numerous investors, including those most at risk, into purchasing high-risk financial products. Furthermore, the Serious Fraud Office has also initiated an investigation into LCF's collapse in 2019, which resulted in a staggering loss of £236 million for investors.

In addition, the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) issued an alert in August 2023, cautioning against prolific scammers preying on LCF's victims. According to the FSCS, these con artists employ advanced methods to ensnare their targets, including impersonating FSCS officials.

LCF had marketed non-transferable unregulated debt securities, or “mini-bonds”, investing the proceeds in various high-risk ventures, leading to its downfall in 2019 and impacting over 12,000 investors with total losses amounting to £236 million. The FSCS took over the administration of LCF's liquidation in November 2021.

The compensation scheme for LCF victims was concluded by the FSCS on 31 October 2022, after significant delays and three years following the firm's failure. The FSCS has reported that it compensated 99.5% of eligible LCF customers, distributing over £115 million in total. This payout followed an earlier appeal by the FSCS to the relatives of deceased victims of LCF, underlining the scheme's broad and complex impact on affected families.