FSA prevents company ownership after buyer lied on CV
22 Oct 2012
The Financial Services Authority has barred Ewa Karczewska from taking ownership of an authorised firm after she fudged her CV when she submitted it to the regulator.
On 14 September 2010, Ms Karczewska bought 70 per cent of Think Finance from Boril Wdowczyk without first seeking regulatory approval, after which the FSA began an investigation into how qualified she actually was.
The FSA found what it called serious inaccuracies in her CV, including the implied achievement of a degree in philosophy at the University of Warsaw despite records showing she neither passed any course nor received any qualifications from the institution.
Her CV also stated she was the owner of a company specialising in immigration advice and authorised by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, which confirmed to the FSA that the company was no longer authorised or allowed to give UK immigration advice.
According to the FSA Ms Karczewska “lacks honesty and integrity, lacks experience of directing a business and repeatedly provided inaccurate or misleading information to the FSA about her qualifications and experience”.
This Summer (11 July) the FSA retroactively objected to the 2010 acquisition of shares in mortgage and insurance broker ThinkFinance.com.
Victoria Raffé, director of authorisations at the FSA, said: “Those firms and individuals authorised and approved by the FSA are in positions of trust. They have significant responsibilities, in particular to their customers, so it is vitally important that the FSA is tough at the gateway to make sure only the right firms and individuals come within the regulatory perimeter.
“Ms Karczewska broke the rules by taking control of an authorised company without getting pre-approval, denying us the opportunity to assess her at point of entry. And when she did notify us, her repeated inaccuracies were a blatant attempt to undermine our assessment of her fitness to be a controller. Her conduct fell well short of the standards we expect.”
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