FCA Issues Ban Against Kasim Garipoglu from UK Financial Services

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has prohibited Kasim Garipoglu from working in the country's financial services sector, having determined he lacks the requisite honesty and integrity to be considered fit and proper.

Garipoglu was the owner of a firm providing online trading in forex and contracts. Between April 2012 and December 2022, while serving as chief executive, director, and an approved person, he repeatedly disregarded regulatory rules, undermined compliance and anti-money laundering controls, and encouraged misconduct among staff.

He consistently overruled legal advice, prioritized commercial gain over compliance, and treated potential regulatory fines as an acceptable business risk. Garipoglu also deliberately provided false information to the FCA, instructed the forgery of a residency document, falsified a university degree, and made inaccurate declarations in an authorisation application.

In separate incidents, he directed a colleague to impersonate him in communications with the South African regulator and had staff take a mandatory anti-money laundering test on his behalf, later denying this to the FCA.

Therese Chambers, the FCA's joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, stated: 'Mr Garipoglu has consistently shown a blatant disregard of regulatory requirements and chose to run his business in a way that carried significant risk that serious money laundering would be facilitated. His conduct fell far below the standards expected of individuals in senior positions.'

An FX News Group check identifies Garipoglu as a former director of Trive Financial Services UK Limited, a firm which is no longer authorised by the FCA.