Sapia has agreed to make a voluntary payment of £19,637,950 to WealthTek clients and the FCA has censured the firm.
Sapia began working with WealthTek in 2013 and later appointed it as one of its appointed representatives. This resulted in Sapia holding and being responsible for protecting client money resulting from WealthTek’s activities.
WealthTek is a wealth management firm that was regulated by the FCA from January 2020 until April 2023 when the regulator ordered the firm to cease operations and appointed special administrators.
Sapia has admitted that it failed to properly separate key roles within its business relating to client money. People who could make payments from client money accounts also carried out the checks of those accounts required by FCA rules. This lack of separation increased the risk that client money could be lost because of, for example, misuse or poor management.
Were it not for Sapia’s agreement to make the voluntary payment of £19.6m (with the assistance of its ultimate parent company), to be distributed to WealthTek’s clients with a shortfall in the money they have been able to reclaim, the FCA would have imposed a penalty of £7,412,000 (after the 30% discount for agreeing to settle the matter).
Of the £19.6m, WealthTek’s administrators will receive £19.1m and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) will receive £500,000.
In December 2024, the FCA, separately, charged WealthTek’s principal partner with multiple criminal offences, including money laundering and fraud. A trial has been scheduled for September 2027 at Southwark Crown Court in the criminal proceedings brought by the FCA against John Dance.
In July 2025, the FCA fined Barclays Bank £3,093,600 for poor handling of financial crime risks in relation to a client money account opened by WealthTek. Barclays also agreed to make a voluntary payment of £6.3m for distribution to WealthTek’s clients who have a shortfall in the money they have been able to reclaim.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Poor safeguards around client money create opportunities that bad actors can exploit. Sapia’s failures exposed clients to an unacceptable risk of losing their money.
“We decided not to impose a fine on Sapia because of its exemplary cooperation and its acceptance that it should make a voluntary payment to affected customers.”
