Aziz Rahman voices concern about FCA’s lack of Cum-Ex progress as Rahman Ravelli FOI request shows no new investigations

Rahman Ravelli’s Aziz Rahman has highlighted the Financial Conduct Authority’s difficulties in investigating Cum-Ex.

He made his comments after a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by Rahman Ravelli to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed that no Cum-Ex investigations have been started by the agency since February 2020. That was the month when the FCA confirmed that it viewed Cum-Ex trading as abusive and said it was working closely with European authorities.

The FCA stated to Rahman Ravelli that, as of February 2021, eight individuals and 14 firms were under investigation in relation to Cum-Ex. Last October, it had said six individuals and 14 firms were being investigated.

Rahman Ravelli’s FOI request and Aziz’s comments on the figures prompted articles by Bloomberg, GIR and Law360.

Aziz said that while the UK’s involvement in Cum-Ex was limited – and even though a judge has halted one investigation – the figures suggest that the FCA is struggling to hold to account those it believes were responsible for the share-selling scandal.

While expressing concern about the lack of new FCA investigations into Cum-Ex, he said it is yet to be seen how the scandal affects the UK’s big financial institutions.

The FOI request featured in Bloomberg, GIR and Law360.