FCA Chair Allegedly Revealed Whistleblower’s Identity

The head of England’s financial watchdog has reportedly been accused of violating a whistleblower’s confidentiality.

Ashley Alder, chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), allegedly forwarded correspondence featuring a whistleblower’s name, address and concerns without redaction, the Financial Times (FT) reported Friday (Aug. 23).

The report, based on internal emails at the FCA, noted that the regulator’s whistleblower policy says: “Your identity will not be revealed without your consent.”

According to the FT, the whistleblower was let go from the FCA in 2021 for alleged misconduct and also lost an employment tribunal case against the regulator, which they are appealing. However, their worries about allegedly “opaque” hiring practices that were detailed to Alder led to an internal review.

The report said the FCA has begun another in-house audit in response to the whistleblower’s claims, which will examine its process for determining if misconduct allegations should be the subject of a formal internal investigation.

The FT notes that the FCA has already been criticized for the way it deals with whistleblowers. Last year, the Information Commissioner’s Office determined that the FCA had breached its data protection obligations in a case in which the regulator allegedly intercepted and diverted staff correspondence — including confidential whistleblowing emails — to track workers it considered a nuisance.

The report includes a statement from the FCA and Alder: “This is an exceptional case. A former employee raised multiple concerns in different ways, including through an internal complaint and at an employment tribunal. The senior independent director of the FCA’s board will review how it was handled.”

In other recent FCA news, the regulator last month proposed new rules on publishing a prospectus, raising capital and regulating secondary markets, while also finalizing new rules on investment research.

The FCA said these rules are designed to strengthen the U.K.’s capital markets and its position as a global financial center.

“The package we have set out today, alongside our recent reforms to the listing rules, will help to strengthen the U.K.’s position in wholesale markets,” Sarah Pritchard, executive director of markets and international at the FCA, said in a news release. “We know we need to strike the right balance between protection for investors and allowing capital markets to thrive.”