The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has decided to impose a financial penalty of £99,600 on Carlos Fuenmayor, the Chief Executive of BancTrust, for failing to disclose three separate matters to the regulator. The FCA found that Mr Fuenmayor did not provide required information in a timely and complete manner, including in application forms submitted on behalf of BancTrust.
According to the FCA, Mr Fuenmayor failed, until December 2021, to inform the regulator that he had been placed under investigation by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in December 2017. He also did not disclose that FINRA had subsequently sanctioned him in June 2019. These matters were not communicated to the FCA despite their relevance to his regulatory profile.
The FCA further stated that Mr Fuenmayor failed to disclose that, shortly before an inspection in November 2019, the National Financial Intelligence Unit of Venezuela had frozen his local currency bank accounts. The freeze also applied to the accounts of his Venezuelan companies and their directors. This development was not reported to the FCA at the time.
The regulator concluded that these failures to disclose meant it did not have the opportunity to fully consider Mr Fuenmayor's fitness and propriety or to seek further information about the underlying issues. The FCA determined that his conduct was negligent and in breach of specific regulatory standards.
In its decision, the FCA found that Mr Fuenmayor breached APER Statement of Principle 4 and Senior Manager Conduct Rule 4. These provisions require individuals to disclose appropriately any information which the FCA would reasonably expect to be notified of. The identified breaches relate to his obligations as a senior manager and approved person within the regulated firm.
Mr Fuenmayor has referred the FCA's Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal. At the Tribunal, he and the FCA will present their respective cases. The Tribunal will determine whether to uphold, vary or cancel the FCA's decision, including the proposed fine and findings of breaches.
