Two former finance firm directors whose “dishonesty and false representations” led to consumers losing about £33 million have been completely banned from working in financial services.

The FCA revealed this morning it had issued bans on Kathryn Joy Clark and Richard Aston Clay, who had worked at three Nottingham companies, for offences related to unregulated investment schemes.

They had both already been jailed and were last year disqualified by the Insolvency Service from acting in the management of a company for a combined 29 years over a mishandling of more than £7m of investment funds.

Mr Clay’s offences were committed over five years and affected a large number of individuals, many of whom were near retirement age, the FCA said.

The FCA said it had concluded that both Mr Clay and Ms Clark “are not fit and proper to carry on any function in relation to any regulated activities”.

Ms Clark and Mr Clay, both in their early 50s, caused or allowed false representations to be made in July 2011 by forwarding a false bank statement by email which they knew or ought to have known would be relied upon by a financial advisor, the Insolvency Service stated. It said that bank statement suggested that the balance of an Arck bank account as at 01 June 2011 was £12.2 million, whereas the true balance was just £25.

They were officers of Arck LLP (Arck), HD Administrators LLP (HDA) and Joyston Alternative Assets (No 4) Ltd (Joyston 4).

The pair have today been prohibited from “performing any function in relation to any regulated activity” in the finance sector.

They were charged with dishonesty offences by the Serious Fraud Office and Nottinghamshire Police in late 2013. The offences committed by Mr Clay and Ms Clark primarily involved investments in relation to Arck LLP made through HD Administrators or through other related companies.

In July 2014, Ms Clark pleaded guilty to two counts of forgery and on 3 October 2014, she pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud. On 19 December 2014, Mr Clay pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud.

Mr Clay was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months’ imprisonment after confessing to three counts of dishonestly making false representations to make a gain for himself/another or cause loss to another/expose another to a risk of loss, in breach of section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006. 
These offences were committed between 16 January 2007 and 31 March 2012.

Although Mr Clay was not an approved person at the time the offences were committed, he was connected to a firm authorised by the Authority, and was directly involved in unregulated investment schemes. Two of the three offences committed by Mr Clay were in relation to those connections/involvements.

Ms Clark was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for their offences. Ms Clark’s prison sentence was suspended for two years. The offences for which Ms Clark was convicted were committed in relation to unregulated investment schemes.

It has also withdrawn Ms Clark’s FCA approval in relation to HDA. Mr Clay was not an FCA approved person at HDA, nor has he been an FCA approved person since 2005.

Between 1 December 2001 and 26 April 2005, Mr Clay was approved by the Authority to perform a controlled function in relation to a firm authorised by the Authority. Since 26 April 2005, Mr Clay has not been approved.

Although Mr Clay was not an approved person at the time the offences were committed, he was connected to a firm authorised by the authority, and was directly involved in unregulated investment schemes. Two of the three offences committed by Mr Clay were in relation to those connections/involvements, the FCA recorded.