The Finacial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a £350,000 fine to Kristo Käärmann, CEO of Wise plc and Senior Manager at Wise Assets UK Ltd.
The fine stems from Käärmann breaching a senior manager conduct rule, with the FCA indicating that it should have been clear to him that he needed to disclose these significant issues, which were crucial to assessing his fitness and propriety.
In February 2021, Käärmann was fined £365,651 by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for failing to report a capital gains tax liability from a £10m share sale in 2017.
Later, in September 2021, he was added to HMRC’s public tax defaulters list, emphasising the seriousness of his situation.
These events raised significant concerns about Käärmann’s suitability for his role as a Senior Manager. Between February and September 2021, he failed to recognise the importance of his tax issues and did not inform the FCA, despite being aware of them for over seven months.
This led to the FCA fining him £350,000 for breaching a senior manager conduct rule, with Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Oversight, stating that the UK watchdog and the public expect “high standards from leaders of financial firms, including being frank and open.”
Chambers added: “It should have been obvious to Mr Käärmann that he needed to tell us about these issues which were highly relevant to our assessment of his fitness and propriety.”
This year has been an important year of growth for Wise. In August, the company announced plans to begin enrolling new customers in India for international money transfers, utilising its new licence from the Reserve Bank of India.
