Regulatory Watch News

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  CACEIS UK censured and to pay £31.7m to WealthTek clients for weak financial crime controls

  Financial Conduct Authority

  June 25, 2026

  CACEIS UK, an asset servicing bank, has been censured by the FCA and will make a £31.7m voluntary payment to WealthTek clients for failing to act on information that left clients exposed to the risk of financial crime.

  The FCA has now secured over £57m in total for WealthTek clients in just over a year, with action taken against CACEIS UK, Sapia Partners and Barclays Bank UK. CACEIS UK became WealthTek's sub-custodian in November 2020, meaning they were responsible for keeping its client’s assets safe. WealthTek was then known as Vertus Asset Management LLP. On three occasions, CACEIS UK checked the Financial Services Register which showed that WealthTek wasn’t authorised to hold certain client assets but did not take sufficient action. The firm also did not spot that WealthTek was not allowed to hold client money. However, it went on to open client accounts for WealthTek to use, then failed to monitor those accounts properly by not promptly reviewing and resolving alerts raised by their system.

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  The Retail Payments Infrastructure Board launches consultation on the next generation UK payments infrastructure

  Bank of England

  June 25, 2026

  Today marks a major milestone in the modernisation of the UK's payments landscape, with the Retail Payments Infrastructure Board (RPIB) launching a consultation on the future design of the UK's next-generation retail payments infrastructure. The new infrastructure will provide a secure foundation for innovation, greater choice and more seamless payments, while supporting existing and emerging forms of digital money. This consultation will help inform the ‘blueprint’ for the future infrastructure, which will then be delivered by the new industry led ‘Delivery Company’.

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  Poland: Two suspects detained over €795 000 fraud involving Clean Air Programme

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  June 25, 2026

  At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Katowice (Poland), law enforcement authorities detained two suspects on Monday, as part of an investigation into possible fraud involving funds under the Clean Air Programme, with an estimated damage of €795 000 (PLN 3 420 614.77). Of this amount, €628 000 (PLN 2 700 440) concerned EU funds. One of the suspects is the representative of two companies involved in implementing projects under the Clean Air Programme – a Polish government scheme that provides funding to homeowners to replace polluting heating systems and improve energy efficiency in residential buildings, co-funded by the EU. The other suspect acted as an agent for those companies, helping them find homeowners interested in receiving EU funding under the Clean Air Programme. This suspect also served as the representative of the homeowners who signed contracts with those companies for the provision of services and works subsidised under the Clean Air Programme.