Reference Case Number: FOI10010
Freedom of Information: Right to know request:
The FCA has investigated Premier FX Limited, an authorised payments institution and Barclays Bank's role in Premier FX limited. To the best of our knowledge the investigations were conducted from August 2018 to February 2022.
1. How many hours were spent on the two investigations?
If the investigations continue, please supply the total to date.
2. What were the costs of the two investigations?
If the cost has not been finalised, what is the cost to date?
3. Premier FX was or is a regulated firm, how are or were the costs of the investigations to be met?
FCA response:
Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to you. We have processed your email in line with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and our response is below.
We can confirm that we hold the requested information, which is set out below.
For question 1, we can confirm our records indicate that 12,205 hours of FCA staff time were spent on the two enforcement investigations.
For question 2, we can confirm our records indicates the external case costs for the two enforcement investigations amount to £25,503 and approximately £670,000 for internal staff costs.
Finally for question 3, the FCA recovers the costs of carrying out investigations from the financial penalties levied on firms. The remainder of the penalties are paid to the HM Treasury.