Not Fit and Proper Directions

The Financial Supervision Commission's powers with respect to "not fit and proper" directions are contained within the Financial Services Act 2008.

Not Fit and Proper Directions

The Commission's General Licensing Policy details the Commission's "fit and proper" person criteria. The fit and proper criteria apply to all licence applicants and licenceholders, as well as individuals acting or seeking to act as controller, director, or "key person". "Key persons" are defined in the Financial Services Act 2008 and include individuals with significant powers or responsibilities in a licenceholder. The fit and proper criteria cover integrity, competence and solvency, both on initial licence application or vetting and on a continuous basis.

The Commission may issue a direction to prevent a licence applicant or licenceholder from allowing an individual to become or continue as a controller, director, or "key person", if it has reasonable grounds for believing that the individual is not a fit and proper person. If the Commission has issued a "not fit and proper" direction, it is obliged to publish the fact in a public statement. The register of existing "not fit and proper" directions may be accessed below.

Warning notices

The Commission also has the power to issue "Warning notice" to a controller, director or key person of a licenceholder or other "permitted" person. A warning notice is a lesser sanction than a "not fit and proper" direction and may be issued instead of or before a "not fit and proper" direction. It is a notice that the Commission has grounds to believe that such activities or circumstances as are specified in the notice are prejudicial to the relevant person's fitness and propriety. Warning notices are not published.

Unlike actions under the Company Officers (Disqualification) Act 2009, "not fit and proper" directions and warning notices are not decided by the Courts.

The Commission's policy is to publish only current "Not Fit and Proper" Directions.

Search register for existing "Not Fit and Proper" Directions