UK regulator appoints administrators to close payments firm over money laundering concerns

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Regulator shuts UK payments firm

Highlights

London's High Court approved the FCA's application on June 4 to appoint Teneo administrators for Euro Exchange Securities UK Ltd and shut the firm.
The FCA cites prolonged concerns about financial crime, including money laundering, and mandates the return of client money after freezing funds and securing significant material.
Euro Exchange Securities, part of an international e-money group, has ceased trading, onboarding new customers, and fund withdrawals as FCA intensifies sector pressure.

Court-backed intervention follows FCA trading halt

As reported by Reuters, London's High Court approves the Financial Conduct Authority's application to appoint administrators for Euro Exchange Securities UK Ltd, allowing the regulator to shut the payments firm after ordering it to cease trading on June 4.

The FCA says the London-based business, part of an electronic money and payments group with U.S. and Spanish operations, now has to ensure client money is returned as quickly as possible. Joint special administrators Duncan Perring and James Bennett of Teneo Financial Advisory, who were provisionally appointed last week, now have their roles confirmed and have secured what the regulator describes as a significant amount of material while also freezing funds.

The regulator says it acts after lengthy engagement over serious concerns about financial crime risks, including money laundering, linked to the way the firm is operating. The FCA also says Euro Exchange Securities does not contest the decision to force it to stop trading and agrees it is not in its interests to seek a return to normal operations.

Payments sector faces stronger financial crime pressure

On its website, the company says it is unable to trade, onboard new customers, accept new funds or allow customers to withdraw funds. Euro Exchange Securities does not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Matthew Long, the FCA's director of payments and digital assets, says the risk of payment firms being used by criminals to launder cash and fund other offences is significant, adding that firms in the sector must meet expected standards. He says fighting financial crime is central to the regulator's strategy and that the FCA is using its powers fully to protect consumers and the integrity of the financial system.

Our earlier coverage of Robert Venables KC’s tax case outlined prosecutors’ claims that he used a partnership and a network of trusts to route payments to relatives and workers in ways that withheld nearly £2 million owed to HMRC. Venables told the court the arrangements were intended for tax efficiency and to reduce bureaucracy, but the prosecution argues they were designed to disguise income and avoid income tax. The trial also highlighted the professional fallout for Venables, who says the case has devastated his tax practice.

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