The former CEO of wealth manager SVS Securities plc has been banned from senior management roles in the financial industry by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which found that he failed to protect the interests of the firm’s clients.
In a settlement with Demetrios Hadjigeorgiou, former CEO and director of SVS, was banned and fined £56,400 by the FCA, amid allegations that he breached the regulator’s principles by failing to diligently manage the firm’s business.
Among other things, the regulator alleged that, while Hadjigeorgiou was CEO, the firm invested clients’ retirement savings in high-risk products — including risky, illiquid bonds that were operated by related parties and charged high, undisclosed sales commissions.
The FCA said that the firm’s business model created systematic conflicts of interest, and failed to prioritize clients’ interests.
Ultimately, SVS failed, and in August 2023, the firm was dissolved.
In 2024, the FCA sanctioned three former executives with SVS, including Hadjigeorgiou, who then appealed its decision to the U.K.’s Upper Tribunal. Now, he has dropped that appeal and settled the case.
Originally, the FCA imposed a £84,600 fine on Hadjigeorgiou, but agreed to a lower financial penalty after reconsidering his alleged misconduct and recategorizing the breach.
“Building up a pension for retirement is one of the most important investments you can make. Mr Hadjigeorgiou put people’s savings at risk and his actions have left people worse off in retirement,” said Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, in a release.
“Where senior leaders fail to put customer interests first, we will act,” she added.