Jamas Hodivala, KC

This Practice Note provides an overview of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) criminal powers to prosecute fraud offences under the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006), Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968), conspiracy to defraud under common law and from 1 September 2025, the corporate offence of failure to prevent fraud. It also provides an overview of fraud offences and tracks FCA prosecutions for frauds. This Practice Note considers the FCA’s powers to prohibit individuals convicted of fraud offences from being involved in financial services, using formal enforcement powers under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA 2000). It also provides links to detailed practical guidance.OverviewAn important role of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is that of private prosecutor, particularly in relation to fraud offences such as the general fraud offence under FrA 2006, s 1.A prosecution for fraud is often pursued alongside prosecution for other offences; by way of example, in ‘Operation Tidworth’ the defendants were charged by the FCA with offences of conspiracy to defraud, fraud by misrepresentation,

This Q&A considers the extent to which commissions for referrals of customers or clients could be considered bribes under the UK’s Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010). In particular, it considers the lack of a distinction between bribes paid to public officials and private individuals under BA 2010 and how facilitation payments can therefore constitute an offence under BA 2010, s 1 or give rise to corporate criminal liability under BA 2010, s 7.

This Q&A considers illegality in judicial review context.

This Q&A considers if coronavirus (COVID-19) is a reportable disease under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).

This Q&A considers material considerations in judicial review proceedings.

This Q&A considers the practical steps to take when the police or regulator is searching a clients property at a time when the legal team are self-isolating.

This Q&A considers the authority of the Financial Conduct Authority to prosecute offences under the Fraud Act 2006.

This Q&A considers judicial review and the alternative options available if there is an adequate alternative remedy.

This Q&A considers the impact of bringing an appeal against a criminal conviction on the payment of a fine which was imposed by the sentencing court.

What is APP fraud?APP fraud (or Authorised Push Payment fraud) occurs when a victim is persuaded to voluntarily transfer funds from their own account to another bank account, which is either controlled by a fraudster or to which the fraudster has access. It is called ‘authorised’ because, from the bank’s perspective, the payment has been authorised by the customer. In October 2016, the Consumer’s Association ‘Which?’ made a super-complaint to the Payment Services Regulator, raising the prevalence of APP fraud and concerns regarding consumer safeguards.By 2021, losses to APP scams totalled £583.2m, a 39% increase on the previous year.APP fraud and a bank’s ‘Quincecare duty’Deriving its name from the 30-year-old case of Barclays Bank v Quincecare Limited, the Quincecare duty is an implied contractual term between the bank and its customer that it will exercise reasonable skill and care when executing the customer’s orders. The case considered a bank’s liability for executing banking instructions provided by the customer’s agent, which

This Q&A considers fettering of discretion in a judicial review context.

This Q&A considers the power of local authorities in England and Wales to issue an FPN for a breach of an abatement notice served under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

This Q&A considers when a decision is amenable to judicial review proceedings.