Asset servicing bank agrees to voluntary payment after the FCA identifies weaknesses in financial crime controls
CACEIS UK has been censured by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and agreed to make a voluntary payment of £31.7 million to clients of WealthTek after the regulator found weaknesses in the firm’s financial crime controls. The FCA announced the outcome on 25 June 2026, stating that CACEIS UK failed to act on information that exposed WealthTek clients to the risk of financial crime.
According to the regulator, the latest action means it has now secured more than £57 million for WealthTek clients in just over a year through action involving CACEIS UK, Sapia Partners, and Barclays Bank UK. CACEIS UK became WealthTek’s sub-custodian in November 2020, when the firm was known as Vertus Asset Management LLP. As sub-custodian, CACEIS UK was responsible for safeguarding client assets.
The FCA found that on three occasions, CACEIS UK checked the Financial Services Register, which showed WealthTek was not authorised to hold certain client assets. Despite this, the regulator said the firm did not take sufficient action.
The FCA also found that CACEIS UK failed to identify that WealthTek was not authorised to hold client money. It subsequently opened client accounts for WealthTek and did not properly monitor those accounts by promptly reviewing and resolving alerts generated by its monitoring systems.
Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said strong financial crime controls are essential to protecting client assets and that CACEIS UK’s failures exposed clients to serious risk. She added that the FCA decided not to impose a financial penalty because the firm had cooperated extensively with the investigation and agreed to make a substantial voluntary payment.
The voluntary payment of £31,714,068 will be distributed to WealthTek clients who have not recovered their money in full. The FCA said that, without CACEIS UK’s cooperation and agreement to make the voluntary ex gratia payment, it would have imposed a financial penalty of £23.091 million after applying a 30% settlement discount.
Of the £31.7 million payment, £30.9 million will be paid to WealthTek’s administrators, while £800,000 will be paid to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FCA said the FSCS will distribute any surplus recovered to eligible WealthTek clients in accordance with its rules after completing any further recovery actions.
The regulator completed its investigation in 13 months, describing the case as an example of improvements in the pace of its enforcement investigations. The FCA noted that in December 2024, it separately charged WealthTek’s former principal partner, John Dance, with multiple criminal offences, including fraud and money laundering. His trial is scheduled to begin at Southwark Crown Court in September 2027.