Unauthorised mortgage broker to pay £4m

The FCA has secured an order of £4m in the High Court against two firms under the directorship of one individual, which respectively arranged mortgages and bought properties and rented them back to the sellers. Neither business was authorised and the order to pay the FCA applies to the two entities, the director and his father. Once the FCA has recovered funds it can pay compensation to individuals who were affected.

The breaches went on for an extended period, and the judge noted that also involved deception of consumers and lenders, which took advantage of the consumers’ vulnerability.

The court also ordered one of the businesses to remove restrictions registered against the titles of 4 properties which had been used to force individuals to pay exorbitant fees in order to be able to sell or remortgage the properties.