UK financial watchdog fines H2O's former deputy CEO, places ban
H2O in 2019 became the subject of market and regulatory concern over its investments in illiquid bonds issued by several companies related to German entrepreneur Lars Windhorst, who owns investment firm Tennor.
FCA said that during its investigation, Alba provided false and misleading statements and documentation to the regulator.
"Alba asked junior colleagues to create minutes, including records and minutes of committees, where no formal meetings had taken place," the watchdog said.
"Alba also provided due diligence materials, such as investment research, to the FCA that had been created years after the investments had been made, when he had claimed they were produced at the time."
In August 2024, H2O voluntarily offered to pay 250 million euros to investors trapped in funds since 2020 and said it would shut its UK regulated operations, escaping a fine for failing to make sufficient checks on risky investments.
($1 = 0.7448 pounds)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The 37 taxes you pay and why it now takes £3.1m to feel 'wealthy' - This is Money podcast
While the average household pays £16,700 in direct tax on income, our audit shows this is just the tip of the iceberg. We all pay a multitude of other taxes, from air passenger duty to environmental levies on our energy bills. Lee Boyce, Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost discuss what the total sum is - and that our tax rate is more like 57 per cent. And tax rises don't always bring in more cash for the Treasury coffers. As the Government weighs up introducing yet another tax - this time a wealth tax - we explore why despite the allowance being slashed the capital gains tax take is down and what it means for the Chancellor's plans. How much you need to feel wealthy in different areas of Britain? Does £1million still cut it? The six burning questions everyone is asking financial advisers right now… and their expert answers And we answer a reader query: Could I give £250 gifts to 400 people who then pay them to my daughters to beat inheritance tax on £100,000? Listen to the This is Money podcast We publish the podcast every Friday on This is Money and at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and more. Search for it at your favourite podcast platform. To download Apple Podcasts go to the App store. On Android devices, go to the Google Play store to download the podcast app of your choice. You can press play to listen to this week's full episode on the player above, and wherever you get your podcasts please subscribe and review us if you like the podcast. You can also listen to the latest episode, find the archive and join in the debate in reader comments on the This is Money podcast page.
The Sun
15 minutes ago
- The Sun
Foreign criminals are vanishing from our courts and reoffending under fake names, ex-prosecutor claims
FOREIGN criminals are vanishing from British courts mid-trial and reoffending under fake names, a former top prosecutor has claimed. Reform UK 's rising star Laila Cunningham, who recently quit the CPS, said illegal migrants are slipping through the cracks and warned Britain is now 'importing crime'. 2 2 The mother-of-seven and London councillor is now leading Nigel Farage's national crime campaign - having defected from the Tories. Speaking to The Sun, Ms Cunningham said overstayers and undocumented migrants often used 'long lists of aliases' to dodge justice - with some simply vanishing during trial. Recalling a shocking case, she said: 'He robbed a woman coming off the Eurostar, took her suitcase and left. He was an illegal asylum seeker, the mitigation is that he can't work. "So they ordered what you call a probation report. And they said, we are going to adjourn it until after lunch. He never came back, and he is untraceable. "And this happens all the time." Explaining how others simply lie about their age to stay in the country, she added: "I have had a guy with literally a receding hairline, white hairs, and he said he's 16. And then you have to argue in court if he really is 16. Legal Aid pays for an age assessor and he keeps committing crimes. "I definitely think that if you do commit a crime, your asylum application should be denied immediately." Ms Cunningham also said she felt forced out of the Crown Prosecution Service after speaking publicly about grooming gangs, a lack of policing, and her decision to join Reform. She revealed bosses raised three complaints, including that she had spoken critically about parts of the Muslim community. The Westminster councillor said: 'I said that Muslim communities have really let Muslims down. And I said, 'But I am Muslim. It's just me speaking in a personal capacity.'' Her comments come as Ministry of Justice figures show 1,731 foreign nationals are now in UK prisons for sex crimes - up nearly 10 per cent in a year. A total of 10,722 foreign offenders and suspects are currently behind bars - the highest figure in over a decade - costing the taxpayer an estimated £580 million annually. Backing 30,000 more police, zero-tolerance policing and automatic deportations, Ms Cunningham added: 'Criminals have to fear the law again. 'The old parties sold us out - Reform is the only one putting British people first.' A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: "Councillor Cunningham resigned from her position as a CPS prosecutor.' They also stressed Ms Cunningham quit before HR action was initiated.
The Sun
15 minutes ago
- The Sun
Huge £145m EuroMillions jackpot to be won TONIGHT – just hours before Lottery shut down for days
A MASSIVE £145 million EuroMillions jackpot is up for grabs tonight just hours before the lottery shuts down for days. From 11pm on Saturday, all draw-based game entries and in-store prize claims will be suspended as the National Lottery undergoes a major technology upgrade. Services will be down until Monday morning - including the National Lottery app and website - in what has been called the biggest system overhaul in more than three decades. Players participating in tonight's £145 million draw or this weekend's Lotto and Thunderball games have been urged to act quickly to avoid disappointment. Keen participants must pick up their ticket before Saturday night's deadline. And for those looking to increase their odds, top lottery expert Simon Horne exclusively tells Sun readers how to boost their chances of bagging the whole lot. From picking your lucky numbers to whether you should join a syndicate, there's a heap of practical ways to boost your chances of getting richer overnight. Of course, the only real way of increasing your chances of winning is to buy more tickets. Make sure you gamble responsibly. Only gamble with money you can afford to lose, and set a money limit before playing. If you need advice, visit or Is a syndicate worth it? A lottery syndicate is when a group of people put money into a pot for lottery tickets. There will be one person in charge - the syndicate manager - who will buy tickets and share out any winnings out among the group. Playing as part of a group could be a good way of boosting your chances of winning, as Simon, from The National Lottery operator Allwyn UK, explains. "If you join a syndicate of 10 people, then there's 10 tickets and 10 chances of winning, so there's clearly a greater chance of winning compared to if you just bought your own ticket," he said. The syndicate manager will need to register the group and list themselves as the person in charge with The National Lottery. Make sure to write all the terms and conditions of the agreement down, and get each person to sign it, said Simon. "If there's any confusion or complications down the line, then you can refer back to the agreement and then everyone knows where they stand," he said. The big downside to consider being part of a syndicate is that you'll need to equally split the pot between each person. So, if you were part of a syndicate of four people, splitting the £145million jackpot four ways would leave you with over £36million each - although that's still big winnings to walk away with. Pick YOUR lucky numbers You might think that picking up the most common numbers may mean you are more likely to win. The number 20 has been drawn the most at 111 times, according to which tracks lottery results. That's followed by the number 21 and 23, which has been drawn 109 times, then 42 (107 times) then 29 (104 times). The most common Lucky Stars are 3, which has been drawn 181 times and 2, which has been drawn 176 times. But you're better off picking whichever numbers you feel are best, said Simon. That's because, statistically, each number has an equal chance of being drawn. Many people pick their birthday numbers because they think they are lucky. "We all have lucky numbers - I know plenty of players who lean on lucky numbers, which could be phone numbers or numbers passed down from family members," said Simon. "Every set of numbers has the same chance of coming out. "The best strategy to play is the one that you think will bring you luck." Monitor your numbers Not sure your lucky numbers are working for you? You could keep an eye on how often your lucky numbers are being drawn, and if they're not coming up as often as you would like, you can try a different tact. The National Lottery app stores all your tickets from draws you have entered. The app is free to download from either the App Store on iPhone, or the Google Play store on Android devices. That means you can go back in and check your most profitable numbers. You could make a spreadsheet of how often your lucky numbers are being drawn, and every three months, see whether it's worth keeping them, or ditching them for alternatives. According to the unluckiest Euromillions numbers are You might want to avoid "unlucky" numbers - which are the ones drawn the least. These are 22 (66 times), 40 (74 times) and 18 and 43 (78 times). The National Lottery app is free to download from either the App Store or Google Play. Timing matters Timing matters when it comes to buying your ticket, said Simon. If you leave it to the last minute, then there's a risk that you run out of time to buy your ticket. You need to buy your ticket before 7:30pm tonight - otherwise you'll miss out. "My main advice is not to leave it too late - don't rush into the newsagents or load up your app at 7:25pm," he said. "You might not be able to upload money onto your online account, or buy your ticket, in time and you could miss the draw."
