Laura WilesThe Court of Appeal has allowed the FCA’s appeal against an Upper Tribunal decision which asked the regulator to reconsider a proposed ban against an individual and directed that a fine should not be imposed.
In 2021, the FCA published a decision notice setting out its decision to ban Markos Markou, director and CEO of mortgage broker firm Financial Solutions (Euro) Limited, from financial services, and impose a fine of £25,000. The FCA considered that Markou was not fit and proper to perform his senior management functions, having failed to properly oversee the firm’s mortgage business, despite two previous interventions by the FCA.
Markou appealed against the decision in the Upper Tribunal, which found against the FCA in 2023 – it was not satisfied that the decisions to withdraw Markou’s approval and ban him were within the range of reasonable decisions open to the FCA, on the basis that none of the factual allegations had been established on the balance of probabilities. The Upper Tribunal remitted the matters of the approval and ban to the FCA to reconsider in line with its findings, and directed it not to impose any fine or disciplinary action.
In January 2024, the Court of Appeal confirmed it was allowing the appeal, and has now found that the FCA’s decision to ban Markou from working in financial services was correct. It also determined that it was appropriate to fine him, but reduced the originally proposed figure to £10,000.