The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Friday that it has fined Sigma Broking Limited £1,087,300 for failing to submit accurate transaction reports over a five-year period.
FCA Fines Sigma Broking Limited £1.1 Million for Transaction Reporting Failures
The regulator revealed that between December 2018 and December 2023, Sigma submitted nearly 925,000 incorrect reports, representing almost all of its transactions during that time.
The FCA said the errors stemmed from incorrect system setup and remained uncorrected due to weaknesses in Sigma’s reporting processes.
“The transaction reports we receive are crucial to the work we do in combatting financial crime,” said Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA. “Sigma’s failures were serious, sustained and showed a lack of care.”
The regulator noted this is the second enforcement action against Sigma for transaction reporting breaches.
In 2022, Sigma was fined £531,600 for similar failures, including failing to report 56,000 transactions and not identifying 97 suspicious trades between 2014 and 2016. Three directors were also fined, with two receiving bans.
The latest case, opened in April 2024, is said to have concluded in just 16 months, significantly faster than the 42-month average for cases closed in 2023/24.
The FCA stated that this reflects ongoing efforts to accelerate the pace of enforcement investigations.
Sigma agreed to resolve the case early, qualifying for a 30% discount on the fine, which would otherwise have totalled £1.55 million.
