City watchdog hands £1.8m fine to JLT arm
INSURANCE broker JLT Speciality Ltd has been fined £1.8m by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over bribery and corruption failings at the company between February 2009 and May 2012.
The broker, an arm of insurance giant Jardine Lloyd Thompson, accepted the FCA’s analysis that it had put “unacceptable” bribery controls in place on overseas markets and that it had failed to carry out proper checks before it embarked on new business deals.
Tracey McDermott, the FCA’s director of enforcement and financial crime, said: “These failings are unacceptable given JLTSL actually had the checks in place to manage risk, but didn’t use them effectively, despite being warned by the FCA that they needed to up their game. Businesses can be profitable but firms must ensure that they take the necessary steps to control the risks in that business.”
The investigation concluded that despite not having adequate checks in place, the FCA could find no evidence to suggest that JLTSL had permitted any illicit payment nor intended to permit any. Suzanne Fribbins, rick management specialist at the British Standards Institution, called the fine a “wake-up call” for firms on the importance of preventing bribery. The FCA added that it increased the original penalty, as JLTSL failed to adequately respond to numerous warnings.