Terence Joint and Vroni O’Brien, directors of Joint Aviation Services, were forced to pay out £10,000 and £20,000, respectively, after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that premiums paid by its clients for insurance cover were being funnelled into the firm’s business account.
The activities, which were carried out between April 2011 and June 2012, saw O’Brien continue to transfer money from Joint Aviation’s client account to its own business account even after a client money shortfall was identified.
By June 2012, the firm owed £150,253 to insurers for net outstanding insurance premiums. The shortfall was recovered through the sale of the business to another intermediary, with no customer being denied insurance cover as a result.
A month later, the firm ceased conducting all regulated activities and subsequently cancelled its permission in January the following year.
Mark Steward, director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Directors of an authorised firm that is permitted to hold or control client money have a duty to ensure client money is protected and handled properly. Ms O’Brien and Mr Joint failed to do this and did not act with the skill, care and diligence that consumers rightly expect from the principals of an insurance intermediary.
“Consumers should not be exposed to the risk of loss because of misconduct and, in these cases, the FCA will hold to account senior managers who have failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the misconduct from occurring.”
