Dishonest broker is fined and banned by the FCA
Dishonest broker Martin Sarl is fined £5,021.00 and banned by the FCA from working in the financial services industry for acting without honesty and integrity.
Mr Sarl, who was the sole director at Perry Prowse Insurance Consultants Ltd, failed to pass on his clients’ premiums to insurers between November 2017 and October 2019, meaning that his customers were left uninsured and without cover.
After the FCA carried out its investigation it was here where they uncovered that Mr Sarl used money from the firm’s client account to pay debt for his personal use as well as his firm. Mr Sarl clearly breached the FCA’s client money rules, as these funds should have been kept separate.
By Mr Sarl taking these actions resulted in that there was not enough money to transfer the premiums that his customers had paid, therefore leaving customers without cover and at risk of having their home, and car insurance claims rejected.
When Mr Sarl was faced with questions by his customers about their insurance, he knowingly hid the truth, even going as far as blaming a false 'IT glitch', and to make matters worse there was an instance where a customer had a claim rejected because they did not have cover in place because the premium was not passed over to the insurer.
Therese Chambers, Joint head of Enforcement and Market oversight at the FCA said:
'Mr Sarl's customers trusted him to keep their money safe and to secure the insurance cover they needed. Instead, he helped himself to prop up his business and personal finances. He compounded this by lying to his customers.
'This left many people at risk of being unable to make a claim should they have needed to. It is right that Mr Sarl should be banned from the industry'.