Jean-Noel Alba, the former deputy chief executive officer of French asset manager H2O AM LLP (H2O) has been fined £1,049,500 by the FCA and banned from the financial services industry.

An FCA investigation found that Mr Alba lacked integrity because he misled the regulator.

Between April 2015 and November 2019, the FCA said H2O failed to carry out proper due diligence on investments relating to the Tennor Group of companies owned by Lars Windhorst, or companies he introduced.

The investments were high-risk and hard to sell, leaving investor money trapped. In August 2024, the FCA agreed that H2O would pay those investors €250m (£214.8m).  

During the FCA’s investigation into H2O, Mr Alba provided false and misleading statements and documentation to the regulator. Mr Alba was the principal point of contact with the FCA during its investigation.

Mr Alba asked junior colleagues to create minutes, including records and minutes of committees, where no formal meetings had taken place. Mr Alba also provided due diligence materials, such as investment research, to the FCA that had been created years after the investments had been made, when he had claimed they were produced at the time. 

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “Senior leaders in financial services need to act with integrity. Mr Alba fell well short of those basic standards.

“He has no place in the industry. This ban and substantial fine should serve as a warning to others that if you mislead the FCA, you will face the consequences.”

The FCA investigation found that Mr Alba breached APER Statement of Principle 1 (failed to act with integrity) and Statement of Principle 4 (failed to deal with the FCA in an open and cooperative way); and Individual Conduct Rule 1 (failed to act with integrity) and Individual Conduct Rule 3 (failed to deal with the FCA in an open and cooperative way).

The FCA investigation also found that H2O did not have adequate policies or procedures or exercise due skill and care in managing potential conflicts of interest.

The FCA identified over 50 instances where hospitality had been received by H2O employees but was not properly declared, including the use of a super-yacht and private jet.

The French financial services regulator the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the designated regulator in respect of the collective investments, which H2O had managed on a cross-border basis pursuant to the UCITS Directive. The AMF is the designated regulator of H2O.