The Financial Conduct Authority has banned Kasim Garipoglu from working in the UK financial services industry. The regulator concluded he is not a fit and proper person due to a lack of “honesty and integrity”.

The FCA said Garipoglu owned a firm offering online trading in foreign exchange and contracts. Between April 2012 and December 2022, including the period when he served as chief executive and director and held regulatory approval, he repeatedly ignored regulatory obligations and undermined compliance controls.

Regulator Cites “Money Laundering Risk”

According to the authority, Garipoglu disregarded advice from colleagues and compliance staff who warned that some of his instructions were illegal and breached regulatory requirements. The regulator said he repeatedly overruled these warnings and prioritised commercial gain over compliance.

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Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said Garipoglu had “consistently shown a blatant disregard of regulatory requirements” and chose to run his business in a way that created “significant risk that serious money laundering would be facilitated.”

She added that he “has consistently sought to evade accountability” and that his conduct “fell far below the standards expected of individuals in senior positions.”

Finance Magnates has reached out to Garipoglu for comment regarding the FCA’s decision. As of publication, no response has been received.

Ex-CEO “Falsified Documents, Misled Regulators”

The regulator said this behaviour means Garipoglu “poses an ongoing risk to consumers and to the integrity of the UK financial system.”

The FCA noted that his actions weakened anti-money laundering controls and encouraged misconduct within the company. It said Garipoglu viewed the possibility of regulatory fines as a business risk that could be accepted in pursuit of commercial advantage.

The regulator also found that Garipoglu deliberately provided false and misleading information to the FCA and other regulators. Examples included instructing the forgery of a document intended to show that an employee lived at a UK address with him, when neither individual did.

The investigation also found he falsified a university degree certificate and submitted inaccurate declarations to the FCA as part of an authorisation application for another firm he owned.

In a separate case, Garipoglu instructed a colleague to impersonate him in communications and during a phone call with a regulator in South Africa.

The FCA also said he asked staff to take a mandatory anti-money laundering test on his behalf and later presented the result as his own. When questioned by the regulator, he denied the conduct.