Financial regulators are winding down crisis-era investigations, with only seven dawn raids mounted in the past year.
Dawn raids are carried out by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) officers under warrant and in the presence of a police officer. They are designed to capture as much potential evidence as possible.
The FCA made 37 dawn raids in 2009, at the height of the financial crisis. The number of raids are now at their lowest point since 2007. FCA fines have also dropped dramatically, from £905m in 2015 to just £22m in 2016.
However, Richard Burger, partner at City law firm RPC, said the current lull should not be taken as a sign the FCA is going soft on financial crime.
‘Some commentators are reading too much into the 97% drop in FCA fines last year, but the FCA has not gone soft on proactive enforcement action,’ he said.
‘Undertaking raids sends a clear deterrent message to the City of London and to the boiler room operators. If the FCA can make a good case for a raid then the FCA will do it.’
Burger
