FCA fines senior manager £350,000 for SMCR breach

The FCA has fined Kristo Käärmann, CEO of Wise and senior manager of Wise Assets UK, £350,000 for breaching a senior manager conduct rule.

In February 2021, Käärmann paid a significant fine to HMRC of £365,651. He was fined for deliberately failing to notify HMRC of a capital gains tax liability after he sold shares worth £10m in 2017. In September 2021, HMRC subsequently added Käärmann to their public tax defaulters list.

Between February 2021 and September 2021, these matters, including the circumstances surrounding them, were relevant to the FCA’s assessment of Käärmann’s fitness and propriety. The FCA says Käärmann "failed to appropriately consider the significance of the tax issues and notify the FCA, despite being aware of them for over 7 months".

The FCA issued the fine after determining that Käärmann was in breach of Senior Management Conduct Rule 4, which states: “You must disclose appropriately any information of which the FCA would reasonably expect notice.”

The FCA’s Senior Managers and Certification Regime aims to reduce harm to consumers and strengthen market integrity by creating a system that enables firms and regulators to hold people to account.   

Käärmann would have been fined £500,000, but he agreed to resolve these matters and so qualified for a 30% discount.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and oversight at the FCA, said: "We, and the public, expect high standards from leaders of financial firms, including being frank and open.

"It should have been obvious to Mr Käärmann that he needed to tell us about these issues which were highly relevant to our assessment of his fitness and propriety."