FCA fines online broker £1,049,412 for poor market abuse controls and failure to report suspicious client transactions

The FCA has fined online broker, Interactive Brokers (UK) Limited (IBUK), £1,049,412 for failings in its post-trade systems and controls for identifying and reporting potential market abuse between 6 February 2014 and 28 February 2015.

The FCA said that IBUK breached Principle 3 (management and control) of its Principles for Businesses,  by failing to take reasonable care to organise and control its affairs responsibly and effectively with  adequate risk management systems in relation to detection and reporting of potential instances of market abuse.

This serves as a reminder that firms not only have a key responsibility to report suspicious conduct in capital markets, but an obligation to ensure that their trading systems are not used for the purpose of financial crime.