Restructuring

For committing infringements/infractions, the regulatory penalties to be applied consist of warnings, fines and fines for particularly serious infringements. For example:

• AOA50 million and AOA150,000 to AOA150 million, depending on whether it is applied to a natural or legal person.
• AOA300,000 to AOA150 million and AOA500,000 to AOA500 million, depending on whether the natural or legal person is applied.

Some examples of infractions are: the exercise of the activity in disregard of the rules on registration with the supervisory body; the violation of the rules on subscription or payment of the capital stock, as to the term, amount and form of representation; the omission of information and communications due to the respective supervisory body, within the time limits established and the provision of information incomplete.

In addition to the above-mentioned fines, ancillary sanctions may be imposed on the offender, such as: seizure and confiscation of the object of the offence, including its economic product; disqualification from exercising corporate positions and management functions in financial institutions, for a period of six months to three years, in certain cases provided for by law or three months to one year, in others, also provided for by law.

Where a breach of law has occurred, ASIC may take various steps, including obtaining an enforceable undertaking from, or issuing an infringement notice on, the offending party.

An enforceable undertaking may include providing compensation, or outlining a process for independent monitoring of an organization's continuing compliance with the law, while an infringement notice will impose financial penalties on an offending party.

If an infringement notice is not complied with or an enforceable undertaking is breached, ASIC can bring a civil penalty action against the recipient seeking payment of the fine and/or compliance with the terms of the enforceable undertaking. ASIC can also pursue civil penalties and other remedies (e.g. banning individuals from operating in the industry or serving as directors) even without first seeking enforceable undertakings or issuing infringement notices. For serious breaches which involve criminal conduct, it can (working with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP)) pursue criminal charges.

ASIC will always assert the right to make an enforcement outcome public, unless the law requires otherwise.

The other regulators listed above (APRA, ATO, ACCC and Austrac) also have the ability to pursue various types of penalties for breaches of the legislation and rules that they respectively regulate.

When a legal or regulation provision is breached, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (Autorité des services et marchés financier/Autoriteit voor Financiële Diensten en Markten) (FSMA) or the National Bank of Belgium (Banque Nationale de Belgique/Nationale Bank van Belgie) (NBB) may impose a financial penalty or withdraw the entity's authorization. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

Penalties range from warnings to the intervention or liquidation of the financial institution, depending on the infraction.

The Central Bank may intervene in the operations of a financial institution not controlled by the Brazilian government if there is a material risk for creditors, or if the financial institution frequently violates applicable regulations. The Central Bank may also intervene if liquidation can be avoided or it may perform administrative liquidation or, in some circumstances, require the bankruptcy of any financial institution, except those controlled by the Brazilian government.

In addition to the aforesaid procedures, the Central Bank may also establish the Temporary Special Administration Regime (Regime de Administração Especial Temporária or RAET) which is a less restrictive form of intervention by the Central Bank in private and non-federal public financial institutions and which allows institutions to continue to operate normally.

The RAET may be imposed by the Central Bank in the following circumstances:

• continuous practice of transactions contrary to the economic and financial policies established by federal law;
• the institution fails to comply with the Compulsory Reserves rules established by the Central Bank;
• suffers losses that put its creditor at risk due to inadequate management;
• repeatedly breaches Brazilian banking rules and regulations;
• the institution reckless or fraudulent management;
• the institution faces a shortage of assets; and
• the occurrence of any of the events described above that may result in a declaration of intervention.

The main objective of the RAET is to assist with maintaining the solvency and financial conditions of the institution under special administration and avoid intervention and/or liquidation. Therefore, the RAET does not affect the day-to-day business operations, liabilities or rights of the financial institution, which continues to operate in its ordinary course. The RAET also immediately results in the loss of the term of office of the administrators and members of the Audit Committee of the institution.

There is no minimum term for a RAET, which may cease upon the occurrence of any of the following events:

• acquisition of share control of the financial institution by the Brazilian federal government;
• corporate restructuring, merger, spin-off, amalgamation or transfer of the controlling interest of the financial institution;
• when, at the discretion of the the Central Bank, the institution’s situation has normalized; or
• declaration of extra-judicial liquidation of the financial institution.

An administrative liquidation of any financial institution (with the exception of public financial institutions controlled by the Brazilian government) may be carried out by the Central Bank if it can be established that:

• the institution’s economic or financial situation is at risk, particularly when the institution ceases to meet its obligations as they become due, or upon the occurrence of an event that indicates a state of insolvency under the rules of Law No. 6,024;the financial institution is deemed insolvent;
• the financial institution has incurred losses that could abnormally increase its unprivileged and exposure of the unsecured creditors;
• management of the relevant financial institution has materially violated Brazilian banking laws, rulings or regulations; or
• upon cancellation of its authorization to operate, the financial institution does not initiate ordinary liquidation proceedings within 90 days or, if initiated, the Central Bank determines that the pace of the liquidation may represent a risk to its creditors. Liquidation proceedings may otherwise be requested, on reasonable grounds, by the financial institution’s officers, if its respective bylaws entitle them to this jurisdiction, or by the intervener appointed by the Central Bank in the intervention proceeding, with an indication of the causes of the request.

The scope of the applicable regulatory authority’s powers are set out in the governing legislation. Generally, when a breach has taken place the applicable regulatory authority may impose a financial penalty or censure, or withdraw regulated status against the firm or regulated individuals.

The CMF is entitled to cancel the registry of a regulated entity if they violate the regulations contained in the Securities Act (whether if they are issuers or brokers). Fines can be applied and even suspension of the profession for the persons involved.

In addition, the General Banking Law establishes that the directors and managers of an institution subject to the supervision of the CMF who, knowingly, make false representation with respect to the ownership and capital contribution of the enterprise, or approve or submit a misstated or false balance sheet, or feign its situation, especially the amounts advanced to directors or employees, shall be punished with imprisonment.

In addition, the General Banking Law states that anyone who obtains loans from credit institutions, either public or private, supplying or providing false information or maliciously incomplete with respect to his or her identity, activities or statements of situation or equity, causing damage to the institution, shall be penalized with imprisonment.

The Superintendency of Finance may inspect Colombian financial institutions on a discretionary basis and has the authority to impose sanctions including admonitions, fines, removals, or administrative takeovers on such institutions and their directors and officers for violations of Colombian laws or regulations, or such financial institutions’ by-laws.

If a financial institution exceeds the lending and investment limits as set forth in the applicable law, the Superintendency of Finance may impose a fine up to twice the amount by which any such loan exceeded the limit and, in some cases, there may be criminal sanctions.

Please note that only the most serious offences and related penalties are listed below.

The Act on Banks establishes several contraventions and regulatory offences for violating the rules:

• Under Section 36a, if a natural person undertakes a regulated activity without the permission of the Czech National Bank, fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank or accepts a deposit contrary to the rules, that person may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit (dvojnásobku výše neoprávněného prospěchu) or CZK 130 million.
• Under Section 36c, if a legal entity or a natural person-entrepreneur undertakes a regulated activity without the permission of the Czech National Bank, fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank or accepts a deposit contrary to the rules, that person may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit or CZK 130 million.
• Under Section 36e, if a bank fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank or fails to fulfill a duty in accordance with Article 99 of the Regulation (EU) 575/2013, that bank may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit or 10% of its annual turnover.

The Act on Credit Unions establishes several contraventions and regulatory offences for violating the rules:

• Under Section 27a, if a natural person undertakes a regulated activity without the permission of the Czech National Bank or takes over a Credit Union without previous permission of the Czech National Bank, that person may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit or CZK 130 million.
• Under Section 27b, if a credit union fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank or violates the rules relating to the determination of capital, that Credit Union may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit or 10% of its annual turnover.
• Under Section 27c, if a legal entity or a natural person-entrepreneur uses the term credit union contrary to the rules, initiates an activity without permission, fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank or takes over a Credit Union without the previous permission of the Czech National Bank, that person may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit, CZK 130 million or 10% of its annual turnover.

The Act on Insurance establishes several contraventions and regulatory offences for violating the rules:

• Under Section 119, if a natural person provides false information in its application or intends to increase its participation in an Insurance or Reinsurance Company and become a controlling entity without the previous permission of the Czech National Bank, that person may be fined up to CZK 1 million.
• Under Section 120, if a legal entity or a natural person-entrepreneur violates the secrecy, provides false information in its application or intends to increase its participation in an insurance or reinsurance company and becomes a controlling entity without the previous permission of the Czech National Bank, that insurance or reinsurance company and/or its controlling entity may be fined up to CZK 10 million.
• Under Section 120, if an insurance or reinsurance company undertakes an insurance or reinsurance activity without permission of the Czech National Bank or appoints a person who is untrustworthy or unprofessional to the key functions of the company, the Insurance or Reinsurance Company may be fined up to CZK 50 million.

The Act on Capital Market Undertakings establishes several contraventions and regulatory offences for violating the rules:

• Under Section 157, if an investment firm fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank in accordance with Article 99 of the Regulation (EU) 575/2013, the Investment firm may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit or 10% of its annual turnover.
• Under Section 158, if a regulated market operator fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank or violates a restriction or prohibition issued by the Czech National Bank, the regulated market operator may be fined up to CZK 20 million.
• Under Section 159, if a multilateral system operator fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank or violates a restriction or prohibition issued by the Czech National Bank, the Multilateral System Operator may be fined up to CZK 20 million.
• Under Section 161, if a central securities depository fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank in accordance with Article 27 of the Regulation (EU) 575/2013 or fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank in accordance with Article 40 of the Regulation (EU) 575/2013, the Multilateral System Operator may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit, CZK 550 million or 10% of its annual turnover.
• Under Section 162, if an issuer fails to publish an annual report, a biannual report, the issuer may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit, CZK 300 million or 5% of its annual turnover.
• Under Section 164, if a legal entity or a natural person-entrepreneur fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank in accordance with Article 30 of the Regulation (EU) 575/2013 or fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank in accordance with Article 53 of the Regulation (EU) 575/2013, that person may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit, CZK 550 million or 10% of its annual turnover.
• Under Section 166, if a natural person fails to fulfill a duty of informing the Czech National Bank, the person may be fined up to twice the amount of any unauthorized benefit or CZK 60 million.

The Act on Supervision on the Capital Market establishes several Contraventions and Regulatory offences for violating the rules:

• Under Section 9b, if a legal entity or a natural person-entrepreneur fails to fulfill any duties connected with the acquisition of shares in a joint-stock company or acquisition by a controlled person, that person may be fined up to CZK 50 million.
• Under Section 9c, if a natural person fails to fulfill any duties connected with the acquisition of shares in a joint-stock company or acquisition by a controlled person, that person may be fined up to CZK 25 million.

The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) may exercise supervisory powers in respect of financial markets, such as temporary prohibition from holding a managerial position in a supervised entity and curtailment of operations subject to authorization.

In addition, the FIN-FSA may impose administrative sanctions, ie administrative fines, public warnings, and penalty payments. FIN-FSA may also request a police investigation.

When a rule breach has taken place, the Prudential and Resolution Supervisory Authority (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution) (ACPR) or the Financial Markets Authority (Autorité des Marchés Financiers) (AMF) may impose a penalty (up to EUR100 million or to 10% of net annual turnover for legal persons, and EUR 5 million or tenfold the amount of the benefit derived from the breach for natural persons for the ACPR, and up to EUR 100 million or to 10 times any profit earned for professional under AMF supervision or up to EUR 300,000 or to or 5 times any profit earned for individual acting under the authority or on behalf of a professional, for the AMF) or censure, or withdraw regulated status (on a temporary or definitive basis) against the firm and/or regulated individuals. Regulators may also require inter alia the compulsory resignation of the regulated entities directors. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

The ECB has competence to pronounce sanctions as well against French entities subject to its direct supervision.

Failure to comply with the requirements of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG) and other regulatory rules may result in sanctions for firms and certain individuals (eg directors). The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) can also revoke a firm's authorization.

Bank of Ghana

After the Bank of Ghana provides the entity investigated with its investigation report, it may require the entity to submit an explanation for the findings in the report. An entity which fails to submit an explanation upon request is liable to an administrative penalty of not more than GHS12,000.

After the Bank of Ghana receives an explanation for its findings from the entity investigated, it may direct the entity to take remedial action within a stated period of time. An entity which fails to comply with the directives given by the Bank of Ghana is liable to an administrative penalty of not more than GHS24,000.

Other regulatory penalties which may be imposed by the Bank of Ghana after an examination into the operations of an entity include the appointment of an advisor or official administrator and remedial measures set out in sections 102 and 103 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930) against both the entity and its directors and key management personnel such as an order to the bank or specialized deposit-taking institution to cease the violation or unsafe practice.

Securities and Exchange Commission

For a breach of the Securities Industry Act, 2016 (Act 929) which does not constitute a criminal offense, the Securities and Exchange Commission may impose an administrative fine of an amount specified in relation to the particular breach, or if no amount is specified,  GHS36,000.  For example, a person who carries out the business of a market operator without a license may be fined GHS54,000. It may also nullify the purchase of shares following a takeover, consolidation or merger involving a public company if it determines that the Code has been violated.

National Insurance Commission

The National Insurance Commission may suspend or revoke an insurance license upon notice to the license holder stating the reasons for the suspension or revocation. It may also give directives to the license holder, including a directive to cease to engage in any class of insurance business or not to enter into any new contracts for any class of insurance business.

National Pensions Regulatory Authority

Regulatory penalties which may apply include the removal from office of a director or officer of a trustee, pension fund manager or custodian who fails to submit reports of any fraud, forgery, theft or other acts of dishonesty which occurs in the establishment. Other penalties are the payment of an amount not less than GHS3,000 for employing a person whose name is on the list kept by the Board of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority of persons dismissed for fraud or other dishonesty and, for persistent offenders, revocation of license.

When a rule breach has taken place, the National Bank of Hungary may impose a financial penalty or censure, or withdraw regulated status against the firm and/or regulated individuals. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

The Central Bank of Ireland has a wide range of enforcement tools, including, but not limited to, administrative sanctions, investigations (leading to a public inquiry), directions to refund or withhold money charged, fitness and probity investigations, refusal/cancellation/revocation of registrations, supervisory warnings, and repayment of the Central Bank of Ireland’s costs.

The fines that can be imposed as administrative sanctions are capped at EUR10 million or 10% of turnover for a corporate entity and EUR1 million (and or/disqualification) for an individual . Fines made following an inquiry will be determined having regard to the financial circumstances of the entity/individual.

In the event that management irregularities and regulatory violations are discovered in the course of off-site reviews and on-site inspections, sanction procedures may be initiated against the intermediary and/or the directors which could result in the imposition of administrative penalties.

Also, the regional council, in application of article 30 of the appendix relating Composition, Organization, Functioning and attributions of the CREPMF, can impose a disciplinary, financial and administrative sanction for any action, omission or maneuver that would be contrary to the general interest of the financial market and its proper functioning and/or prejudicial to the rights of savers.

The CREPMF does not have the power to impose criminal sanctions, but it does have the power to pronounce:

• pecuniary sanction;
• administrative sanction; and
• disciplinary sanction.

When there is violation of law, the financial authority can apply pecuniary sanctions (fines), administrative sanction (withdrawal or suspension of authorization) and disciplinary sanction. This sanction does not prevent the application of criminal penalty.

Those sanctions are imposed without prejudice to legal sanctions which may be pronounced against their authors on the basis of a claim for compensation brought on an individual basis by aggrieved persons as a result of these conducts (appendix relating Composition, Organization, Functioning and attributions of the CREPMF, article 30).

Regulatory penalties include any of the following:

• a public announcement of misconduct;
• revocation of the relevant license;
• business suspension; and/or
• administrative fines.

When a rule breach has taken place, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier may impose a financial penalty or censure, or withdraw regulated status against the firm and/or regulated individuals. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

The FSC has powers to impose a range of penalties. These include: giving directions; issuing warnings; issuing public censure; imposing an administrative penalty; revoking a license; disqualifying a licensee from holding a license; and disqualifying the officer of a licensee.

When a rule breach has taken place, the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) or the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (CONDUSEF) may impose a financial penalty or censure, or withdraw regulated status against the firm and/or regulated individuals. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

In the event of a breach of the legal provisions, there are disciplinary sanctions (financial penalty, warning, warning or injunction) or criminal sanctions such as a fine or imprisonment or the closure of institutions.

The following regulatory penalties may, among others, apply:

• orders for incremental penalty payments and publication thereof;
• an administrative fine (with a maximum of €5 million) (exemptions may apply) and publication thereof;
• withdraw regulated status against the financial entity; and
• informal measures, including an instruction by the regulator, a letter of warning or a disciplinary discussion.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has the discretion to take enforcement action and to decide what enforcement action to take. Registered banks could be subject to de-registration.

Examples of penalties in the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 are:

• fines of up to NZD50,000 for infringement offences;
• injunctions;
• banning orders;
• loss of license;
• pecuniary penalty orders (the maximum being the greater of the consideration for the transaction, three times the amount of the gain made or loss avoided, or NZD1 million for an individual and NZD5 million in any other case);
• compensatory orders; and
• other civil liability orders.

Where a breach has taken place, the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority or the Norwegian Ministry of Finance may impose a financial penalty or censure, or withdraw regulated status against the firm and/or regulated individuals. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

In addition to this, ordinary penalties and sanctions may be imposed by the Norwegian police.

When a rule breach has taken place, the authorities may impose a financial penalty or censure, or withdraw regulated status of the firm and/or regulated individuals.

The Polish Financial Supervision Authority may, among others, impose a financial penalty or withdraw the regulated status of the firm and/or regulated individuals. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

When a firm has committed a breach of regulation, the Bank of Portugal, the Portuguese Securities Market Commission or the Portuguese Insurance and Pensions Funds Supervising Authority may impose regulatory penalties and ancillary penalties. Penalties may include a temporary ban on a firm's operations and a publication of any penalties imposed.

When a regulatory breach has taken place, the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico may impose a fine or penalty, or revoke the license to operate in Puerto Rico. These penalties are published in the applicable regulations.

Depending on the breach, the National Bank of Romania may apply various sanctions, varying from written warning, public warning (in which the relevant guilty individual or entity, as well as the breach that has taken place are identified), fines applied to a legal entity (up to 10% of the aggregate net value of the turnover in the preceding financial year), fines applied to individuals (up to the RON equivalent of €5 million). Furthermore, the National Bank of Romania may also impose various measures aimed specifically at ending the observed breaches, such as withdrawal of the authorization granted to the credit institution. The National Bank of Romania makes public on its official website, the sanctions applied, in accordance with the law.

When a rule breach has taken place, the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) may issue a warning, impose a financial penalty, suspend or withdraw the authorization against the firm and/or regulated individuals. The FSA will publicize these penalties.

When a rule breach has taken place, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) may impose a financial penalty, withdraw authorization or apply to the court for compulsory liquidation of a legal entity or for confiscation of all proceeds from unauthorized activities by the state. Some of these penalties will be published by the CBR.

The regional council, in application of article 30 of the Appendix relating to the Composition, Organization, Functioning and attributions of the CREPMF, can impose disciplinary, financial and administrative sanctions for any action, omission or maneuver that would be contrary to the general interest of the financial market and its proper functioning and / or prejudicial to the rights of savers.

The CREPMF does not have the power to impose criminal sanctions, but it does have the power to pronounce:

• pecuniary sanction
• administrative sanction
• disciplinary sanction

When there is violation of law, the financial authority can apply pecuniary sanctions (fines), administrative sanction (withdrawal or suspension of authorization) and disciplinary sanction. Those sanctions do not prevent the application of criminal penalty.

Those sanctions are imposed without prejudice to legal sanctions which may be pronounced against the offenders on the basis of a claim for compensation brought on an individual basis by aggrieved persons as a result of these conducts (appendix relating to the Composition, Organization, Functioning and attributions of the CREPMF, article 30).

When a breach has taken place, the Monetary Authority of Singapore may impose a financial penalty or censure, or withdraw regulated status against the firm and/or regulated individuals. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

When a rule breach has taken place, the National Bank of Slovakia may impose a financial penalty against the firm and/or regulated individuals, or withdraw regulated status.

Companies Act

In terms of the Companies Act, if the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission believes a person has contravened the Companies Act, it may issue a compliance notice to that person directing that any steps reasonably designed to rectify the contravention be taken. In the event that a company fails to comply with a compliance notice, CIPC may apply to a court for an administrative fine to be imposed. Such administrative fine may not exceed the greater of:

• 10% of that company's turnover for the period during which the person failed to comply with the compliance notice; or
• ZAR1 million.

Competition Act

Section 59(2) of the Competition Act limits the maximum administrative penalty which may be imposed by the Competition Commission to 10% of that company's annual turnover (in South Africa and from its exports from South Africa) for the preceding financial year.

Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA)

The Financial Intelligence Centre has wide discretion when imposing ‘administrative sanctions’ within the following categories:

• a caution not to repeat the conduct which led to the non-compliance;
• a reprimand;
• a directive to take remedial action or make specific arrangements;
• the restriction or suspension of certain specified business activities; or
• a financial penalty not exceeding ZAR10 million in respect of natural persons and ZAR50 million in respect of any juristic person.

Inspection of Financial Institutions Act

Administrative penalties will be derived from the relevant legislation which the financial institution is found to have contravened.

When a rule breach has taken place, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (Spanish Securities and Exchange Commission, CNMV) or the Bank of Spain may impose a financial penalty or censure, or withdraw regulated status against the firm and/or regulated individuals. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

When a rule breach has taken place, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) may impose a fine or an injunction, or withdraw regulated status against the firm and/or regulated individuals. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

Regulatory penalties generally include:

• revocation / cancellation of licenses or permission;
• prevention from trading or involving in the securities market eg prohibition to be a director or executive of listed companies; and
• reimbursement of benefits received from regulatory violation or of expenses arising from investigation.

The National Bank of Ukraine, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission or the Financial Services Market Commission may impose administrative sanctions (suspension or termination of a license, exclusion from the relevant registries of authorized entities), penalties and criminal liability on the firms and/or regulated individuals. The penalty may vary from GBP54 (UAH 1,700) to GBP5,369 (UAH 170,000), depending on the breach.

When a rule breach has taken place, the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulatory Authority have a variety of regulatory penalties they may impose depending on the seriousness of the matter. These include:

• withdrawing a firm’s authorisation;
• prohibiting individuals from carrying on regulated activities;
• suspending firms and individuals from undertaking regulated activities;
• issuing fines against firms and individuals who breach the rules or commit market abuse such as insider dealing;
• issuing fines against firms breaching competition laws;
• making a public announcement and publishing details of a warning, decision or final notices;
• applying to the courts for injunctions, restitution orders, winding-up and other insolvency orders;
• bringing criminal prosecutions for financial crime, such as insider dealing, unauthorised business and false claims to be authorised; and
• issuing warnings and alerts about unauthorised firms and individuals and requesting that web hosts deactivate associated websites.

When a rule breach has taken place, the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulatory Authority may impose a financial penalty or censure, or withdraw regulated status against the firm and/or regulated individuals. The regulator will publicize these penalties.

This depends on the nature of the transgression but can be anything from fines to suspension and revocation of licenses.

The following is a list of regulatory penalties that may be imposed when a rule breach has occurred.

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

• Cease-and-desist orders and injunctions
• Civil money penalties for each act or omission that violates any relevant statutory provision or rule
• Disgorgement of fees, compensation or profits
• Rescission of transactions
• Willful violations may be prosecuted as criminal violations, with large fines to entities and potential incarceration for individuals

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)

• Censure, fine, suspension of membership and/or registration, expulsion, cease-and-desist order, or any other fitting sanction

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Federal Reserve

• Cease-and-desist orders
• Restitution or reimbursement
• Indemnification or guaranty to third parties harmed by the wrongful conduct
• Removing institution-affiliated party from the banking institution and prohibiting the party from participating in banking at other financial institutions
• Civil money penalties against institution or institution-affiliated parties

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

• Blocking actions against assets within jurisdiction of the US
• Civil money penalties

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)

• Cease-and-desist orders
• Civil money penalties
• Prompt Corrective Action Directives (PCADs)
• Safety and Soundness Orders (SASOs)

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• Cease-and-desist orders
• Civil money penalties
• Restitution, disgorgement, and other appropriate equitable remedies

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

• Cease-and-desist orders
• Civil money penalties
• Restitution, disgorgement, refund, rescission, and/or payment of damages