FCA issues Final Notice on Carlo Palombo
Summary
The FCA has issued a Final Notice prohibiting Carlo Palombo from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity carried on by an authorised or exempt person or exempt professional firm.
Palombo was convicted on 26 March 2019 of one count of conspiracy to defraud relating to EURIBOR submissions made at Barclays under his supervision.
On 1 April 2019, Palombo was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. In the sentencing remarks, the judge told Palombo that ‘it could not have been long before you knew exactly what [a colleague] was doing and that what you were doing on his instruction was illegal and dishonest.’ The judge continued to say that ‘your motive was greed and your inhibitions were suppressed as you thought you would not be found out.’
The FCA noted that the conviction was for a serious offence of dishonesty relating to financial crime which was committed over a sustained period of time. Something characterised by the judge as a ‘manipulation that continued over at least three years.’
The judge told Palumbo that ‘as far as harm is concerned, you fall into the highest category, Category 1, as the loss or intended loss in the conspiracy is well over £500,000.’ The sentencing Judge also considered it an aggravating feature that ‘even after [a colleague] left Barclays in May 2007, you continued to make requests of the submitters, and did so after [the colleague] became an associate director and the senior trader on the swaps desk in 2008.’
The judge said Palumbo had assumed a leading role in the offending after [the colleague] had left Barclays, and an important role while that colleague was still in post. The offence was committed while Palombo was an approved person at Barclays. Palumbo was told he had ‘influenced the submitters, abused his position of trust and responsibility, and that the offending was sophisticated and involved significant planning.’
On this basis, the FCA concluded that Palombo is not a fit and proper person to perform any function in relation to any regulated activity carried on by an authorised person, exempt person or exempt professional firm. The regulator said his conviction demonstrates a clear and serious lack of honesty and integrity, indicating that he is not a fit and proper person to perform functions in relation to regulated activities.
Links: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/final-notices/carlo-palombo-2022.pdf