"" FCA Fines and Bans Former SVS CEO Over Pension Fund Failures
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned Demetrios Hadjigeorgiou from holding senior management positions in financial services and fined him £56,400 over failures at former discretionary fund manager SVS Securities Plc.
Hadjigeorgiou was SVS’s finance director before becoming CEO. He served in the role until shortly before the firm entered special administration. The FCA said Hadjigeorgiou failed to properly manage SVS and protect customers’ interests. The firm invested customer money, including pension savings, in high-risk products while receiving significant payments.
The FCA also found that Hadjigeorgiou failed to challenge a decision to reduce the value of customers’ bond investments by 10% when they sought to sell them. The reduction generated £359,800 for SVS, while customers were not clearly informed about it. Some consequently lost part of their pension savings.
Regulatory Action Outside the UK
The case has also resulted in regulatory action outside the UK. Earlier, the Dubai Financial Services Authority banned former SVS CEO Kulvir Virk from performing any function connected with financial services in or from the Dubai International Financial Centre. Virk was fined £215,500 and permanently banned from UK financial services.
FCA’s Warning to Senior Leaders
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: "Building up a pension for retirement is one of the most important investments you can make." She added: "Where senior leaders fail to put customer interests first, we will act.
