Ed Siddons

Fines for UK financial crime nosedive to ‘pitiful’ lows Penalties from the FCA drop by 78% in five years as it prepares to take on a new role as 'super-regulator'

Fines for UK financial crime nosedive to ‘pitiful’ lows.

Penalties from the FCA drop by 78% in five years.

Regulator now has a duty to promote growth of the sector. It is a race to the bottom.

Financial crime not investigated. Bankers bonuses will increase from illicit financial flows. To

Truly a tale as old as time.

(Postcript: never clicked pre-order on a release so fast, can't wait to read.)

The FCA rejected any suggestion that its new focus on growth had limited its enforcement appetite, pointing to prosecutions, employment bans, and preventative work which, it said, demonstrated its commitment to crack down hard in cases of misconduct.

The news comes as the FCA's remit is set to expand dramatically as the new money laundering "super regulator" for sectors like law and accountancy.

Some feared the FCA's new "growth" mandate might be limiting its appetite to impose blockbuster fines.

@spotlightcorruption.org

Fines for UK financial crime nosedive to ‘pitiful’ lows Penalties from the FCA drop by 78% in five years as it prepares to take on a new role as 'super-regulator'

NEW: Fines imposed by the UK's financial regulator have plummeted by 78% in five years.

The FCA, a bulwark in the country's fight against financial crime, secured £124m in fines last year, down from £567.8m in 2021.

@premnsikka.bsky.social

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

Independent police corruption investigations plummet by 70% in five… Campaigners slam ‘broken’ complaints system as corruption probes by the watchdog hit alarming lows

The IOPC defended the decline, noting an increasingly complex case load, and dwindling resources.

The body, which is undergoing a "transformation plan", told us it wants to do more, but on funding issues, its hands are tied.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

While the number of corruption cases the IOPC investigates using local police forces has remained stable, at just over 100 a year, its fully independent investigations have plummeted – from 101 in 2020/21 to just 30 in 2024/25.

Independent police corruption investigations plummet by 70% in five… Campaigners slam ‘broken’ complaints system as corruption probes by the watchdog hit alarming lows

NEW: Independent corruption investigations by the police watchdog have fallen by 70% in five years.

The IOPC, which handles the most serious police complaints, has seen its budget slashed by a third since 2018, despite unprecedented public outcry.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

Reform’s local councils are bringing climate denial into the… Top polling party’s moves to ‘undeclare’ the climate emergency and scrap net zero targets could be a sign of things to come

Smart piece by smart colleagues: Reform's mainstreaming of climate denialism, one council at a time:

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

The Londoner is being sued by a holiday let grifter. We’re going to fight him in court Mysterious emails, incessant demands and a fake lawyer — an editor’s note about a serious threat we’re facing

This rodeo never ends:

www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-londoner...

Thanks very much!

Thanks very much, Josh!

Inside the British Virgin Islands’ corruption crisis How an international power battle broke out over a territory where post-imperial tensions run high – and drug money flows right to the top

NEW: In 2022, the BVI was plunged into a political scandal that nearly saw the islands forced into direct rule.

I spent many, many months trying to work out why and how this happened.

Out today, via the Guardian Long Read & Pulitzer Center:

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Thanks very much! Re-read your Nevis long read many a time in the reporting of this.

Walking into disaster: the narcotrafficking scandal that blew up the BVI The long read: When the new premier of the British Virgin Islands said he needed an armed security detail, his chief of police knew trouble was on its way

“This will not be business as usual, but rather business unusual, business unconventional,” said the BVI premier at the start of his tenure. But no one knew quite how unusual it would turn out to be.

Today's Guardian long read by @edsiddons.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Inside the British Virgin Islands’ corruption crisis How an international power battle broke out over a territory where post-imperial tensions run high – and drug money flows right to the top

NEW: In 2022, the BVI was plunged into a political scandal that nearly saw the islands forced into direct rule.

I spent many, many months trying to work out why and how this happened.

Out today, via the Guardian Long Read & Pulitzer Center:

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

What gets measured gets done.

Why we need to end Whitehall secrecy on offshore secrecy...

In better news, the story made it into parliament this morning. Always good to see legislators responding to and using TBIJ's work:

HMRC won't admit how much tax is lost offshore The taxman has the numbers needed to estimate how much cash is lost to overseas havens – but it isn't sharing the details

NEW: HMRC has figures on how much tax it suspects is lost offshore – but it won't disclose them.

Story here led by @simonlock.bsky.social featuring @taxwatch.bsky.social

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Why aren’t we listening to Indigenous people about the climate crisis?

Extraordinary piece from a Bureau colleague – speaking to 100 indigenous leaders about whether any meaningful progress has been made through a decade of promises. Deeply reported and beautifully told:

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

City lawyers tried to ‘silence’ police fraud investigator Carter-Ruck launched campaign against London detective on behalf of $4bn crypto scam, according to court documents

NEW: Libel lawyers Carter-Ruck sought to – in their own words – "silence" a police fraud investigator on behalf of OneCoin, a $4bn crypto scam.

The latest on Carter-Ruck's reckoning by me and @simonlock.bsky.social for @tbij.bsky.social

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

‘Send a clear message’: Carter-Ruck’s dirty tactics on behalf of $4bn… Stunning new documents lay bare law firm’s attempts to silence whistleblowers and cast doubt on police probe

NEW: Explosive documents revealed in an ongoing case against Carter-Ruck partner Claire Gill have pulled back the curtain on London’s reputation management industry.

There’s more to come, but for now, have a read: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Noel Clarke loses libel case against Guardian over sexual misconduct investigation High court rejects actor’s claim that accusations against him by more than 20 women were false and part of a conspiracy

And how many thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent defending this, I wonder?

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/a...

Roman Abramovich may owe UK £1bn in unpaid tax Leaked documents suggest oligarch's billions were managed from UK, undermining offshore tax avoidance plan

And finally, my colleague Simon's mammoth investigation into Roman Abramovich's tax affairs – one of the best pieces I've read this year:

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

HMRC prosecutes less than five tax evasion enablers in a year Legal actions against facilitators stand at next to nothing – and new figures differ wildly from those previously given

For further reading, here are the other parts of the series:

1/ www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...
2/ www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2024...
3/ www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2024...

HMRC fines zero ‘enablers’ of offshore tax evasion in five years Experts say authority is failing to punish the architects of tax-dodging schemes while aggressively pursuing their clients

The original story was part of a series on HMRC's patchy record of pursuing criminal proceedings – particularly against corporates and the wealthy, largely done with The Observer.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2024...

HMRC charges Bennett Verby as first company under tax evasion powers Stockport accountancy firm becomes first to be charged under law brought in eight years ago

NEW: HMRC has charged its first company under a landmark new offence brought in eight years ago.

We previously reported on the lack of any charges back in January of last year – and now, HMRC claims its first prosecution.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Britain’s fiercest libel firm can pursue anyone, anywhere The government is trying to rein in firms like Carter-Ruck. It’s not easy

The original story, a 5,000 word deep dive on the "most feared" libel firm in the UK is here: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023...

Anyway, if you like the work, become a member today – TBIJ relies on donations and even small amounts go a long way: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/support-us

BBC Sounds - The Missing Cryptoqueen Dr Ruja persuaded millions to join her financial revolution - then she disappeared. Why?

OneCoin caused losses to victims estimated in the billions.

Carter-Ruck wrote letters threatening lawsuits to those trying to expose the fraud.

To understand the scale of OneCoin's devastation, nothing's better than the pod – and there's more to come.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

Carter-Ruck partner prosecuted for ‘improper’ threat to sue Claire Gill understood to be facing tribunal over letter attempting to silence victim of a huge fraud scheme, as reported by TBIJ

NEW: The legal regulator has announced that it is prosecuting a senior lawyer at libel firm Carter-Ruck for an “improper” threat to sue.

The complaint to the regulator was filed after our @tbij.bsky.social & @economist.com longread on the firm.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...