Financial Markets Disputes View: February 2026

What’s coming up

Russia sanctions litigation - recent development and future risks – in this webinar on 5 March 2026, co-hosted by Alrud law firm, our experts will provide an update on recent trends in Russia sanctions litigation. Register here.

AI x Dispute Resolution webinar series 2026 – this series running from now until December is designed for in-house counsel, risk and compliance professionals, and business leaders seeking practical, up-to-date insights into AI disputes. More details are available here.

Cross-Border AI Regulation in Practice – please join us on 10 March 2026 for our upcoming cross-border webinar on AI regulation across key Asia-Pacific and European markets. Register now.

New Guidance for Expert Witnesses on AId

The Academy of Experts has published Guidance for Expert Witnesses on the use of Artificial Intelligence to assist experts on the use of AI in their work. AI technologies are being utilised in a variety of expert witness areas, from forensic analysis and medical diagnostics to financial modelling and digital forensics. The framework was created by Simmons Partner and Global AI Lead, Minesh Tanna to help expert witnesses navigate the use of AI. The framework is intended to apply generally (rather than in any particular jurisdiction). Read our article here.

FCA statistics

The FCA has published Q3 25/26 data on skilled person reviews. The statistics show that financial crime remains a strong focus, alongside risk and control frameworks. They usually equate to circa 25% each of all reviews. This FCA year, financial crime amounts to 40% of all reviews. The FCA has also issued 2025 data covering suspicious transaction and order reports (STORs). It received a total of 3,806 reports, including 3,124 for insider dealing and 679 for market manipulation. This represents a significant drop in insider dealing numbers from the previous year when 3945 reports were received. Interestingly, that drop was not mirrored for market manipulation where the number of reports received was up from 581 in 2024.

Enforcement

The last few weeks have witnessed several successful FCA actions against individuals. Richard Howson, the former CEO of collapsed construction company Carillion was fined £237,700 after failing to reflect the company’s serious financial troubles in its market announcements or alert its board and audit committee. The FCA found that Mr Howson acted recklessly and was knowingly concerned in breaches by Carillion of the Market Abuse Regulation and the Listing Rules. The firm eventually went out of business in January 2018 with liabilities of £7 billion.

Bhavesh Hirani, the interim CFO at Bidstack and a “close friend”, Dipesh Kerai have been fined a total of £108,731 by the FCA over insider trading in 2021 that involved the purchase of 1.3 million shares in the company, which places advertising within video games. The FCA was initially notified of the trading through Suspicious Transaction and Order Reports submitted by a firm. The FCA noted that this demonstrated the vital role of industry in uncovering market abuse.

The Upper Tribunal has upheld the FCA's decisions to ban Stephen Joseph Burdett and James Paul Goodchild from working in financial services. The FCA banned the pair from working in regulated financial services for recklessly exposing pension holders to unsuitable investments. The Tribunal also found that it was appropriate for the FCA to impose penalties of £265,071 on Mr Burdett and £47,600 on Mr Goodchild.

Finally, following an action brought by the FCA, seven social media influencers have been sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for their role in the promotion of an unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme.

Moving on to actions against firms, the FCA says it has begun action in the Chancery Division against global crypto exchange HTX, formerly Huobi, for illegally promoting cryptoasset services to UK consumers. This is the FCA's first enforcement action against a crypto firm illegally marketing its products to UK consumers.

The Upper Tribunal has confirmed that Banque Havilland, a Luxembourg-based private bank, should pay a reduced £4 million penalty related to claims that it adopted a “covert and manipulative” trading strategy to attack the currency of Qatar. The FCA had provisionally fined Banque Havilland £10 million. Fines imposed on Edmund Rowland, the former London CEO and Vladimir Bolelyy, a former Bank employee were also confirmed.

The Payment Systems Regulator has published the decision notice issued to the Bank of Ireland (UK) plc fining it over £3.7 million for failing to implement its Confirmation of Payee requirements by the required deadline. The bank agreed to settle at an early stage and received a 30% discount on the original penalty.

Cases

A recent High Court judgment reminds us that certain common law rules remain relevant when considering e-signatures, and raises the prospect that an interest in land could be effectively disposed of via WhatsApp message. Read more here Reid-Roberts and Another (as joint trustees in bankruptcy of Audun Mar Gudmundsson) v Hsiao Mei-Lin and Another [2026] EWHC 49 (Ch).

In Breeze & ors v TSB [2026] EWCA Civ 32, the Court of Appeal rejected an appeal against a decision on preliminary issues in a case brought by 392 mortgage holders affected by the collapse of Northern Rock. The first instance judge had been correct to decide that the bank was not in breach of contract in the interest rate it applied and TSB's interpretation of section 140A(5) Consumer Credit Act 1974 was the correct one. The court cannot make an order for relief affecting a regulated mortgage contract, such as for repayment of sums paid under that contract or to vary the terms of that contract. Such an order is precluded because it would be "in connection with" the regulated mortgage contract.

The claim for repayment of a loan succeeded and a counterclaim that the loan had been procured by duress failed. The judge held that the defendant had entered into the facility agreement voluntarily, there was no positive case on causation and the defendant had failed to show that there were no reasonable alternative lenders. GB Europe Management Services Ltd v RMH Asset GmbH [2026] EWHC 160 (Comm).

In determining a claim for a commission fee for arranging finance, the court interpreted an engagement letter and a tripartite agreement, including interpreting the word “introduce” and the phrase “jointly pursuing” and refusing to imply a term that the claimant’s actions needed to be the effective cause of finance being acquired. Alphier Capital Two LLP v Blyvoor Gold Capital (PTY) Ltd [2026] EWHC 244 (Ch).

An insurer and a reinsurer agreed policy documents providing for English jurisdiction, and certificates for the same cover which provided for New York arbitration. The certificates included a clause which stated that the policy documents were to take precedence over the certificates "in case of confusion". The court held that the confusion clause gave the policy documents precedence where there was confusion between the policy documents and the certificates, not where there was confusion within the certificates. The English jurisdiction and New York arbitration clauses could not be reconciled, and so the English courts had jurisdiction. Tyson International Co Ltd v GIC Re, India, Corporate Member Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 40.

OFSI enforcement

OFSI has announced reforms to its financial sanctions enforcement processes following a consultation, aiming to address its limited track record in concluding investigations (only 17 enforcement outcomes in eight years) despite a significant increase in active cases. The key changes include a new risk-based approach to prioritising cases, a published penalty assessment matrix, fixed penalties and a streamlined enforcement process for reporting, information and licensing offences, a reduced Voluntary Disclosure and Co-operation Discount of up to 30 per cent (down from 50 per cent), a Settlement Scheme offering an additional 20 per cent discount, and an Early Account Scheme providing up to a further 20 per cent discount for early comprehensive disclosure and extensive co-operation — all designed to encourage cooperation and resolve cases more efficiently. OFSI will also double the statutory maximum penalty to the greater of £2 million or 100 per cent of the breach value to increase the deterrent effect of the regime, though this requires legislation. Businesses should review their internal escalation and investigation compliance processes to ensure they can take advantage of the new discount structures where appropriate, whilst preparing for possible increased financial exposure under the higher penalty regime. The new guidance is here.

Motor finance claims

The FCA and SRA have issued a joint warning to claims management companies and law firms handling motor finance claims, highlighting concerns that some consumers have unknowingly engaged multiple representatives for the same claim — sometimes as many as four — exposing them to potentially excessive termination fees if they attempt to cancel duplicate agreements. The regulators expect representatives to conduct proper due diligence when onboarding clients, including checking whether a client is already represented elsewhere, and to ensure that clients make informed decisions before work commences. Where multiple representation has occurred, representatives are urged to cooperate with one another to resolve duplicates efficiently, confirm their authority to act on each specific claim, and avoid misleading advertising that could cause consumers to sign up to new agreements unwittingly.

DUAA: new ICO guidance on data protection complaints handling duties

Ahead of new statutory requirements taking effect under the Data (Use and Access) Act in June 2026, the ICO’s guidance explains what all organisations must do to handle data protection complaints. Read more.

Corporate accountability: Corporate criminal liability podcast

This podcast explores expanding corporate liability for economic crime and UK reforms, featuring insights on ECCTA, compliance, and risk management. This episode is part of our Disputes in a Fragmenting World series on the evolving pressures facing global business.

Parent company liability for overseas environmental and human harm

The liability of parent companies for the acts of their overseas subsidiaries has been a subject of increasing judicial attention, particularly in the context of environmental harm and human rights claims. In this article, we draw out the circumstances in which a court in England & Wales may find a parent company liable for the acts of an overseas subsidiary, comparing the English courts' analysis in the key decisions of BHP, Vedanta and Okpabi to date.

In case you missed it

Confidentiality in litigation – risks under new pilot scheme – in this short webinar, we summarised the rules introduced by the pilot scheme and discuss what they mean for your business.

A Year In Insurance Law 2025 | Simmons & Simmons – a look back at the key insurance law developments of 2025, and their implications for insurers.