By Kirstin Ridley
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s markets watchdog on Thursday banned three former financial advisers from the industry after their convictions for sex crimes, the first time the regulator has used its powers to crack down on such misconduct.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Russell Jameson, Frank Cochran and Mark Horsey had failed to meet “fit and proper” standards because they had committed serious offences while working in the financial services industry.
Jameson was convicted in 2018 of making and stockpiling thousands of violent and indecent images of children and was sentenced to five years in jail.
Cochran, who advised on pensions, mortgages and investments, was convicted in 2018 of sexual assault and controlling and coercive behaviour and sentenced to seven years.
Horsey, a sole director and shareholder of an authorised financial advice firm, was convicted of voyeurism in 2018, after he secretly watched and filmed his tenant in a shower without their consent. He received a suspended, nine-month prison sentence.
A lawyer for Jameson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Horsey and Cochran did not make representations through lawyers, the FCA said, and Reuters was not able to reach them for comment.
“The FCA expects high standards of character, probity and fitness and properness from those who operate in the financial services industry and will take action to ensure these standards are maintained,” said Mark Steward, the head of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA.
The FCA has pledged not to turn a blind eye to non-financial misconduct. Megan Butler, the watchdog’s executive director of supervision, told a government committee two years ago that the FCA viewed sexual harassment as misconduct that can drive poor culture.
Kingsley Napley partner Jill Lorimer said the bans sent a powerful message.
“It leaves no doubt about the high standards of character and integrity expected of the individuals operating in the regulated financial sector,” she said.
(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley. Editing by Jane Merriman)
