The UK financial regulatory authorities have fined Banque Havilland SA, a private bank headquartered in Luxembourg, £ 10 million on suspicion of producing and disseminating a document containing inappropriate advice to potential clients. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also imposed fines on three former employees of the bank's London branch.
According to the FCA, former employees include Edmund Rowland, David Weller, and Vladimir Bollyy, who are former chief executives, senior managers, and employees of the bank's London branch. The regulatory authorities fined them £ 352000, £ 54000, and £ 14200 respectively. It also prohibits them from working in financial services in the UK.
The latest action by the FCA was issued after regulatory authorities issued warning notices to Banque Havilland SA and certain individuals previously employed by the private bank in October 2021 regarding violations of its business principles.
In the notice, British regulatory authorities accused Banque Havilland of being the mastermind of a document outlining a series of steps that could be taken to harm Qatar's economy by using manipulative trading practices aimed at creating false or misleading impressions, as well as the market or prices of Qatar's bonds.
In a statement released on Friday, the FCA stated that it believes Banque Havilland's goal is to devalue the Qatari Riyal and break its peg to the US dollar, in order to harm the economies of Middle Eastern countries.
The financial market supervisor pointed out that the file was created by Boleyy according to Rowland's order, and Weller made a significant contribution. It also pointed out that Rowland and Bollyy distributed the document, including providing a copy to representatives of the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund.
The FCA explained, "Banque Havilland intends to submit this document to representatives of countries it believes may have reasons to exert economic pressure on Qatar (including the United Arab Emirates) as a way of marketing its services
However, UK regulatory authorities have pointed out that no evidence has been found of the implementation of the strategies mentioned in the documents. It describes this strategy as' manipulating transactions', which could constitute a criminal offense if carried out in the UK.
Banque Havilland's behavior actively encourages the commission of financial crimes, offering the idea of manipulating transactions to people they believe may be politically motivated by such ideas. "Therese Chambers, Executive Director of FCA Law Enforcement and Market Supervision, said," This hardly needs to be explained, but this behavior is completely unacceptable
