FCA enforcement

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FCA—objectives and principles

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a risk-based regulator, with limited resources, and as such it concentrates its activity in the areas that pose the biggest threat to its statutory objectives, including its operational objectives of consumer protection, enhancing market integrity and promoting competition.

Underpinning the approach to financial services regulation, the FCA forms part of the regulatory structure for financial services firms. The FCA has a wide-ranging brief to regulate conduct in retail and wholesale markets, supervise the trading infrastructure behind those markets, and oversee prudential regulation of firms not prudentially regulated by the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA). Most UK firms are solely regulated by the FCA for both prudential and conduct purposes. The FCA must, where possible, act in a way which is compatible with its strategic objectives, and advances one or more of its operational objectives. The FCA’s strategic objective is to ensure that the relevant markets function well. The FCA also has the three operational objectives of consumer protection, integrity and competition. The operational objectives are intended to provide additional clarity around elements that would contribute to performance of its strategic objective.

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Latest Corporate Crime News

Insolvency Service secures 12-month jail sentence for bankrupt builder

The Insolvency Service has announced that Nigel Dinneen was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment at Derby Crown Court on 15 January 2026 for obtaining £414,594 in credit from five victims without disclosing his bankruptcy status. Dinneen was declared bankrupt in July 2019 but continued accepting advance payments for building projects across the Midlands, breaching the legal requirement to disclose bankruptcy when obtaining credit of £500 or more. The Insolvency Service further confirmed that Dinneen also committed perjury by concealing multiple bank accounts from the Official Receiver during the bankruptcy investigation.

Güralp Systems loses UK court bid over bribery plea deal

MLex: Güralp Systems lost a UK court bid on 13 January 2026 to block the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) from taking action over allegations that the seismic testing company breached a 2019 plea deal by failing to pay a £2m fine. It is understood that the SFO will now request that the case against the company be listed at London’s Southwark Crown Court to begin proceedings against it.

Corporate Crime weekly highlights—15 January 2026

This week's edition of Corporate Crime weekly highlights includes analysis of the FCA’s enforcement trends in 2025 and what they signal for 2026, and of the regulatory changes expected under the UK and EU crypto regimes in 2026. Also included is news of the High Court confirming that the SFO can proceed with enforcing a suspected breach of its DPA against Guralp Systems Ltd, of the SFO launching a fraud and bribery investigation into the former management of Home REIT, of new Environment Agency guidance requiring water companies to publish mandatory pollution incident reduction plans, and of cyberflashing becoming a priority offence under the Online Safety Act 2023 with new compliance obligations for online platforms. All this, and more, in this week’s Corporate Crime highlights.

OFSI updates General Licence INT/2024/4423849 and related sanctions guidance to reflect revised oil price cap

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has updated sanctions-related guidance and licensing materials following the announcement of a reduction in the crude oil price cap to $44.10 per barrel, which will take effect on 31 January 2026. The updates include amendments to General Licence INT/2024/4423849 to reflect the revised price cap, as well as updates to FAQs 154–158 and 161 in the UK Financial Sanctions FAQs to align with the new cap. The UK Maritime Services Ban and Oil Price Cap industry guidance has also been updated to reflect the revised price cap.

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