The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Kristo Käärmann £350,000 for breaching a senior manager conduct rule.
The FCA issued the fine after determining that Käärmann was in breach of senior management conduct rule four, which states: "You must disclose appropriately any information of which the FCA would reasonably expect notice."
Käärmann, the chief executive of Wise plc and senior manager of Wise Assets UK Ltd, paid HMRC a fine of £365,651 in February 2021.
He was fined for deliberately failing to notify HMRC of a capital gains tax liability after he sold shares worth £10mn in 2017, according to the FCA.
In September 2021, HMRC added Käärmann to their public tax defaulters list as a result.
Between February and September 2021, the matters above as well as the circumstances surrounding them, were relevant to the FCA’s assessment of Käärmann’s fitness and propriety, the City watchdog said.
“Käärmann failed to appropriately consider the significance of the tax issues and notify the FCA, despite being aware of them for over seven months,” it added.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and oversight, said the regulator and the public expected high standards from leaders of financial firms, including being frank and open.
“It should have been obvious to Käärmann that he needed to tell us about these issues which were highly relevant to our assessment of his fitness and propriety,” she added.
alina.khan@ft.com
