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The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment Systems Regulator Limited)

FOI5983

 

Dear Mr Marcus

 

Freedom of Information: Right to know request

 

We refer to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the
Act), dated 31 August 2018, for the following information:

 

“Please provide me with all other details of evidence of fraud or
misconduct within your possession relation to Mayzus Financial Services
and their associated firms and people”

 

Your request is currently being considered and, in doing so, we are of the
view that at least one qualified exemption under the Act applies. As this
is the case, the FCA is required to weigh the public interest in
maintaining the exemption against the public interest in disclosing any
information.

 

By virtue of section 10(3), where public authorities have to consider the
balance of the public interest in relation to a request, they do not have
to comply with the request until such time as is reasonable in the
circumstances. The FCA has not yet reached a decision on the balance of
the public interest. Due to the need to consider, in all the circumstances
of the case, where the balance of the public interest lies in relation to
the information that you have requested, the FCA will not be able to
respond to your request in full within 20 working days.

 

In these circumstances, we hope to be in a position to respond to you by 5
October 2018, although should we be in a position to contact you sooner we
will do so.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Information Disclosure Team

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

Our Ref: FOI5983

 

 

Dear Mr Marcus

 

Freedom of Information: Right to know request

 

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the
“Act”), dated 8 March 2018, for the following information:

 

“Please provide me with all other details of evidence of fraud or
misconduct within your possession relation to Mayzus Financial Services
and their associated firms and people”

 

In our email of 28 September 2018, we advised that at least one qualified
exemption under the Act applies, and we needed more time to consider the
balance of public interest in maintaining the relevant exemptions. I can
now confirm we have now completed this exercise and the outcome is
detailed below.

 

Your request has been considered, and we can neither confirm nor deny
whether we hold the information you are seeking, as we are of the view
that such confirmation or denial would, or would be likely to, prejudice
the exercise by the FCA of its functions under FSMA, along with the
commercial interests of any person (including the named firm).  Therefore,
we are exempted from the requirement to confirm or deny whether we hold
such information under section 31 (Law enforcement) and section 43
(Commercial interests) of the Act. For a detailed explanation as to why
these exemptions apply please refer to Annex A below.

 

The FCA has a policy of not commenting publicly on whether or not it is
investigating a particular firm/individual.  This policy is set out in the
FCA’s [1]Enforcement Guide (EG); see in particular [2]EG 6 on Publicity.

 

In the event that the FCA is investigating a particular individual/entity
and formal enforcement action is subsequently taken, details of the action
will generally be published on the FCA’s website in the form of a Final
Notice and associated press announcement.  This serves to inform the
public of the action taken and the reasons for that action.

 

You can obtain further information regarding enforcement action from the
following places:

 

·                Information about those cases where we have taken
disciplinary action against individuals or firms since April 2013 may be
found on the FCA’s website [3]here.

 

·                The website of the [4]Upper Tribunal provides information
about the cases where our decision to take enforcement action has been
referred to the Tribunal.

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

Information Disclosure Team

[5]Description: cid:image001.png@01D2A7C9.64DDD390

 

Your right to complain under the Act

 

If you are unhappy with the decision made in relation to your request, you
have the right to request an internal review.  If you wish to exercise
this right you should contact us within three months of the date of this
response.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you also
have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner at Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9
5AF.  Telephone: 01625 545 700.  Website: [6]www.ico.org.uk

 

 

 

Annex A

 

 

·                General right of access to information held by public
authorities

 

Under section 1(1)(a) of the Act, any person making a request for
information to a public authority is entitled to be informed in writing by
the public authority whether it holds information of the description
specified in the request. If the public authority holds information of the
type specified in the request, the person requesting the information is
entitled under section 1(1)(b) to have the information communicated to
them.  The rights in section 1(1)(a) and (b) are, however, subject to a
number of exclusions and exemptions, including the following:

 

·                Section 31 (Law enforcement)

 

Subsection 31(3) of the Act provides that the duty to confirm or deny does
not arise if the confirmation or denial that would have to be given to
comply with section 1(1)(a) of the Act would, or would be likely to,
prejudice any of the matters mentioned in section 31(1).  Paragraph (g) of
subsection 31(1) (the exercise by the FCA (as a public authority) of its
functions for any of the purposes specified in section 31(2)) is
especially relevant here.

 

In particular, we believe that paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection 31(2)
are engaged, in that disclosure of whether or not the FCA holds the
requested information would be likely to: a) prejudice the purpose of
ascertaining whether any person is responsible for conduct which is
improper; and b) prejudice the purpose of ascertaining whether
circumstances which would justify regulatory action in pursuance of any
enactment exist or may arise.

 

Section 31 is a qualified exemption and therefore we have balanced the
public interest for and against confirmation/denial, as required by the
Act.

 

Against maintaining the exclusion of the duty to confirm or deny:

 

•      There is a strong public interest in favour of transparency and in
the public being aware of any enquiries, considerations or actions we may
(or may not) be taking in relation to the markets and/or firms and/or
individuals who are, or may be, operating in the financial services
industry.

 

•      Disclosure of the information (if it were to exist) would reassure
the public about the effectiveness of the regulatory approach taken by the
FCA, and demonstrate how the FCA responds to matters arising within the
sector it regulates.

 

•      Disclosure would also provide information (if it were to exist) to
consumers to assist them in making decisions about their dealings or
potential dealings with the markets, firms and individuals that are, or
may be, operating in the financial services industry.

 

In favour of maintaining the exclusion of the duty to confirm or deny:

 

•      There is a strong public interest in the FCA being able to carry
out its functions in the most effective manner possible. Confirmation or
denial that we hold information falling within the scope of the request
could lead to widespread speculation which could hinder and prejudice the
progress of any current and/or future FCA enquiries, considerations and/or
action.  It could also affect the brand and reputation of the market in
the absence of due process having been followed - i.e. in the absence of
any formal public announcement and without the market having had the
opportunity to comment.

 

·                Confirmation or denial that we hold information falling
within the scope of the request could also affect the way that we interact
with the firms and individuals we regulate and risk the need for the FCA
to use its statutory information-gathering powers, which may lead to
delays and disputes with firms when gathering information.

 

Having balanced the public interest, for the reasons set out above, we are
satisfied that overall the balance of the public interest in this case
comes down in favour of maintaining the exclusion of the duty to confirm
or deny under section 31(3); and in neither confirming nor denying that we
hold any information that falls within the scope of your request.

 

 

·                Section 43 (Commercial interests)

 

Section 43(3) of the Act provides that the duty to confirm or deny does
not arise if the confirmation or denial that would have to be given to
comply with section 1(1)(a) would, or would be likely to, prejudice the
commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding
it) mentioned in section 43(2).

 

The commercial interests of the mentioned firm could be harmed by
confirming whether or not we hold the information requested. Were it to be
the case (which we cannot confirm or deny) that we hold information
relevant to your request, such a confirmation could lead to unfair or
unjustified adverse comment and speculation in connection with the firm
involved and any firms they may have been related to. This could affect
the brand and reputation of the relevant firms in the absence of due
process having been followed - i.e. in the absence of any formal finding
of misconduct and without the firms having had the opportunity to
comment.  Any loss of confidence could have serious, adverse consequences
for the firm, as well as their stakeholders, including employees,
investors and creditors.

 

There is a strong public interest in legitimate commercial interests of
firms and individuals not being undermined. This is unless and until such
time as there has been any formal finding of misconduct, following a full
investigation (which may or may not be the case in this instance) and
details of any such investigation are permitted to be made public under
FSMA.

 

Section 43 is a qualified exemption and therefore we have balanced the
public interest for and against confirmation/denial, as required by the
Act.

 

Against maintaining the exclusion of the duty to confirm or deny:

 

·            There is a strong public interest in favour of transparency,
and in the public being aware of any enquiries, considerations or actions
we may (or may not) be taking in relation to the markets and/or firms
and/or individuals who are, or may be, operating in the financial services
industry.

 

o Disclosure of the information (if it were to exist) would reassure
the public about the effectiveness of the regulatory approach taken
by the FCA, and demonstrate how the FCA responds to matters arising
within the sector it regulates.

 

o Disclosure would also provide information (if it were to exist) to
consumers to assist them in making decisions about their dealings
or potential dealings with the markets, firms and individuals that
are, or may be, operating in the financial services industry.

 

In favour of maintaining the exclusion of the duty to confirm or deny:

 

•      Were it to be the case (which we cannot confirm or deny) that we
hold any information relevant to your request, a confirmation that this
was the case could lead to unfair or unjustified adverse comment and
speculation about the firm.  This could affect its brand and reputation. 
Any loss of confidence can have serious, adverse consequences for a firm
and its stakeholders, including employees, investors and creditors.

 

•      Further, confirmation or denial that we hold information falling
within the scope of the request has the potential to mislead and prejudice
the financial markets and consumers, because either misconduct or a clean
bill of health may be inferred incorrectly from the mere fact that we hold
or do not hold information falling within the scope of the request.

 

Having balanced the public interest for and against maintaining the
exclusion of the duty to confirm or deny, as required by the Act, in this
case, in our view the public interest lies in favour of maintaining the
exclusion for the reasons set out above.

 

 

 

This communication and any attachments may contain personal information.
For more information about how and why we use personal information and who
to contact with any queries about this, please see our privacy notices:
FCA Privacy Notice (https://www.fca.org.uk/data-protection) and PSR
Privacy Notice
(https://www.psr.org.uk/cookies-privacy-a...).

This communication and any attachments contain information which is
confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended
recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some
of our communications may contain confidential information which it could
be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you
have received this email in error please notify [email address]
immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information
on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the
FCA website
(http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).

The FCA (or, if this email originates from the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited, the FCA on behalf of the Payment Systems Regulator Limited / the
Payment Systems Regulator Limited) reserves the right to monitor all email
communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional
standards.

This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal
relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator
Limited.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

The Payment Systems Regulator Limited is registered as a limited company
in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 12 Endeavour Square,
Stratford, London, E20 1JN, United Kingdom

Switchboard 020 7066 1000

Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (the Payment
Systems Regulator Limited)

References

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6. http://www.ico.org.uk/