The Financial Conduct Authority has banned former SVS Securities CEO Demetrios Hadjigeorgiou from senior management roles in financial services and fined him £56,400 for serious customer protection failures. The action stems from his leadership at the now-dissolved discretionary fund manager, where pension funds were invested in high-risk products while SVS collected substantial payments from bond issuers.
Hadjigeorgiou also failed to challenge a controversial decision to reduce customer bond values by 10% upon sale, generating £359,800 for SVS while leaving clients uninformed and pension savings depleted. SVS collapsed into special administration, exposing 879 customers who invested £69.1 million in bonds that subsequently defaulted. Recovery prospects remain minimal.
The FCA has pursued multiple SVS executives, including former CEO Kulvir Virk, who received a £215,500 fine and permanent UK ban. Dubai’s DFSA has also banned another former SVS executive from operating in the DIFC.
FXnCO Insight
Fund managers facing regulatory scrutiny over pension product risk disclosures should expect intensified enforcement as UK regulators prioritize retirement savings protection.
Source: Finance Magnates