FCA bans and fines James Lewis £120,300 for putting investors at risk

James Lewis, former CEO of Shard Capital Partners, has incurred a fine of £120,300 and a ban from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) due to regulatory breaches.

This action stems from two separate incidents wherein incorrect information was provided regarding clients' cash purportedly held by Shard, posing risks to the market and investors.

Between June 2015 and May 2017, Mr. Lewis informed auditors that Shard possessed hundreds of millions in cash for a specific client. However, these amounts were actually debts owed by another client within the same group.

Additionally, between June and July 2021, Mr. Lewis furnished misleading information to another client, claiming that Shard held substantial sums on their behalf. Yet, the client's entire cash balance had been transferred out of their account beforehand.

In both cases, Mr. Lewis was aware that the information provided would be used to generate the clients' annual accounts, resulting in misstatements.

Upon the FCA's investigation into the initial incident, Shard discovered the second occurrence and promptly notified the FCA in September 2023. Subsequently, Mr. Lewis also self-reported his actions to the FCA.