Financial Services Regulatory

7BR members advise on a variety of financial services regulatory and enforcement matters across criminal, regulatory and civil jurisdictions both in the UK and offshore.

7BR members offer extensive expertise within banking and wider financial services sectors (including matters related to consumer credit, insurance, and pensions as well as cutting-edge contemporary financial innovations such as crypto-assets). They are involved in contested regulatory matters in London and offshore, including complex financial services litigation and related matters of international regulation. They also advise on large, multi-jurisdictional financial services investigations.

They have acted for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and other authorities. They also advise firms and individuals who are themselves under investigation, ranging from major financial institutions to innovative start-up businesses.

7BR barristers regularly advise on and are particularly sought out for their expertise in crypto-asset and blockchain matters. Members also advise on more traditional investment issues such as pension advice, insurance brokerage and alleged market abuse as well as regulatory permissions and supervisory issues.

The team offer sector-leading expertise in corporate criminal liability, anti-money laundering regulations, deferred prosecution agreements, market abuse, crypto-assets and civil/regulatory liability. 7BR barristers also provide guidance to clients on related commercial and judicial review matters in the High Court.

Notable Cases

• FCA v NatWest Bank: advising the bank in the first prosecution of a bank under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007, where the Court established its approach to sentencing for such offences.
• Successfully defending an ex-MLRO: in the first attempt to prosecute an MLRO on the Isle of Man for alleged failure to report suspicions of Terrorist Financing and Money Laundering.
• PSR v Natwest Group Banks: advising the Payment Systems Regulator on breaches of the Interchange Fee Regulations, resulting in a £1.82m fine levied against four Natwest Group banks.
• Advising Financial Services & Crypto-asset Firms: on their likely regulatory treatment by the FCA and other regulators with regards to FCA Authorisation, AML requirements and Payment Services issues.
• R (FCA) v Gopee: advising the FCA on complex POCA Restraint, Confiscation and associated County Court and High Court proceedings, arising out of Mr Gopee’s complex, unauthorised money lending business (carried out in breach of s.19 FSMA against hundreds of innocent victims).
• FCA v Capital Alternatives & Others: our team includes former FCA in-house enforcement counsel who, during his time there, advised the FCA on this High Court and Court of Appeal case which held Carbon Credit and Land Schemes to be unauthorised Collective Investment Schemes under FSMA 2000.
• A Bank: advising a bank as to its criminal and regulatory responsibilities further to the discovery (following an internal investigation) that hundreds of accounts were suspected to hold criminal funds.