An individual being investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority has been sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of court after failing to cooperate with a restraint order from the regulator.

The FCA had obtained the order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

The individual has not been identified due to ongoing criminal investigations.

The FCA brought two contempt of court applications against the individual before Southwark Crown Court in private.

The restraint order is in place to protect any assets the individual may have an interest in (whether the proceeds of crime or otherwise) pending the completion of an ongoing investigation by the FCA.

The individual accepted all ten breaches and the Court sentenced him to four months in prison for each breach, to run concurrently.

All ten breaches were in respect of his failure to disclose financial interests as required by the restraint order, which “frustrated the FCA’s ability to identify and secure assets” required to be frozen by the restraint order.

Restraint orders often stay in place until the conclusion of all criminal proceedings.

The regulator currently has 34 restraint orders in place in respect to other ongoing investigations.

The FCA recently has recently added to the senior leadership of the teams responsible for regulatory investigations and enforcement.

promoted a new director of retail and regulatory investigations to head the regulator’s investigations.

Anthony Monaghan has been promoted to director of retail and regulatory investigations. He has already been covering the role on an interim basis. He will be responsible for the FCA’s regulatory investigations in sectors including banking, insurance, financial advice and personal pensions. He has been at the FCA since 2010, most recently as head of retail & regulatory investigations in the regulator’s enforcement and market oversight division.

Karen Baxter has joined the FCA’s enforcement team as director of strategy, policy, international and intelligence. She has had a 30-year policing career, holding senior roles including as commander and national coordinator for economic crime at the City of London Police.