Former CEO of H2O AM LLP (H2O) Manager, Jean-Noel Alba, has been fined £ 1,049,500 from the UK financial behavior Authority (FCA) and is prohibited by the Financial Services industry.
An FCA survey found that Mr Alba had no integrity because he was misleading the FCA.
Between April 2015 and November 2019, the H2O failed to conduct proper due diligence in the Tennor Group of companies owned by Lars Windhorst or importing companies.
Investments were high risk and difficult to sell, leaving investors’ money trapped. In 2024, FCA agreed that the H2O would pay these investors 250m euros.
During the FCA investigation into H2O, Mr Alba provided false and misleading statements and documentation to the regulator. Mr Alba was the main point of contact with FCA during the investigation.
Mr Alba asked the lower colleagues to create minutes, including the archives and practices of the committees, where no official meetings had been held. Mr Alba also provided funds, such as investment research, to the FCA, which had been created years after investment, when he had claimed to be produced then.