IOMFSA Enforcement Procedures

Summary

The requester asked for internal IOMFSA enforcement policy documents comparable to the UK FCA's guides, but the authority withheld the information citing a future publication exemption while providing links to existing public overviews and a flowchart.

Key Facts

• The request was received on 13 March 2018 and the response was issued on 29 March 2018.
• The IOMFSA refused to disclose internal documents because they are held with a view to future publication.
• The authority provided a link to a 'Disciplinary Unit Procedure Flowchart' as an alternative resource.
• The provided flowchart covers regulatory decision-making but explicitly excludes criminal investigations.
• The exemption applied is Section 41 of the Freedom of Information Act.

Data Disclosed

• 13 March 2018
• 29 March 2018
• Section 41
• pages 5-6
• 369534

Exemptions Cited

• Section 41 of the Act (Information held with a view to future publication)

Original Request

The Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom ('UKFCA') is the United Kingdom financial regulator and the counterpart of the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority ('IOMFSA'). The UKFCA publishes an Enforcement Information Guide (https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/corporate/enforcement-information-guide.pdf) which, at pages 5-6, contains details of its enforcement procedure in relation to the entities it regulates. The UKFCA further publishes its detailed Enforcement Guide as part of its Handbook (https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/EG/), which sets out its internal enforcement policies and procedures in considerable detail, including the enforcement steps that regulated entities are entitled to expect the UKFCA to take. The website of the IOMFSA (on pages including https://www.iomfsa.im/enforcement/ and https://www.iomfsa.im/designated-business/oversight/) contains only a very brief summary of its supervisory approach, including its policies and procedures in relation to oversight and enforcement. It is important that financial and professional service providers in the Isle of Man have clarity as to what enforcement approach they can expect the IOMFSA to take, as they would if they were in the United Kingdom and regulated by the UKFCA. This request seeks disclosure of any and all internal IOMFSA documents setting out its enforcement policy, analogous or similar to the UKFCA Enforcement Information Guide or the UKFCA Enforcement Guide. In the event that no such IOMFSA documents exist, this request seeks disclosure of that fact. This is a simple request for a defined and limited number of documents which should be readily accessible to the IOMFSA, and accordingly I expect the IOMFSA to provide the relevant documents immediately without placing an administrative burden on the IOMFSA.

Data Tables (1)

Data Tables (reformatted)

Full Response Text

Isle of Man Financial Services Authority PO Box 58, Finch Hill House, Bucks Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1DT Tel: +44 (0)1624 646000 Website: www.iomfsa.im

Our ref: 369534 29 March 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 13 March 2018 and which states:

"The Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom ('UKFCA') is the United Kingdom financial regulator and the counterpart of the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority ('IOMFSA'). The UKFCA publishes an Enforcement Information Guide (https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/corporate/enforcement-information-guide.pdf) which, at pages 5-6, contains details of its enforcement procedure in relation to the entities it regulates. The UKFCA further publishes its detailed Enforcement Guide as part of its Handbook (https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/EG/), which sets out its internal enforcement policies and procedures in considerable detail, including the enforcement steps that regulated entities are entitled to expect the UKFCA to take. The website of the IOMFSA (on pages including https://www.iomfsa.im/enforcement/ and https://www.iomfsa.im/designated-business/oversight/) contains only a very brief summary of its supervisory approach, including its policies and procedures in relation to oversight and enforcement. It is important that financial and professional service providers in the Isle of Man have clarity as to what enforcement approach they can expect the IOMFSA to take, as they would if they were in the United Kingdom and regulated by the UKFCA. This request seeks disclosure of any and all internal IOMFSA documents setting out its enforcement policy, analogous or similar to the UKFCA Enforcement Information Guide or the UKFCA Enforcement Guide. In the event that no such IOMFSA documents exist, this request seeks disclosure of that fact. This is a simple request for a defined and limited number of documents which should be readily accessible to the IOMFSA, and accordingly I expect the IOMFSA to provide the relevant documents immediately without placing an administrative burden on the IOMFSA."

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt from disclosure under section 41 of the Act as it is held with a

view to being published at a future date, when the draft policy and procedures have been approved and in all the circumstances it is reasonable that the information be withheld from disclosure until that time. However, In order to assist you, the Authority has a section on its website which gives an overview of Enforcement matters, this can be found here: https://www.iomfsa.im/enforcement/overview/ In this section there is a specific tab for ‘Disciplinary Action’, this can be found here: https://www.iomfsa.im/enforcement/disciplinary-action/ On the Disciplinary Action page there is a flowchart titled ‘Disciplinary Unit Procedure Flowchart’ showing a high-level overview of the Authority’s decision making process for regulatory matters. However, these procedures do not apply to criminal investigations undertake by the Authority. This document can be found here: https://www.iomfsa.im/media/1429/duflowchart.pdf. The document has some similarities to pages 5-6 of the UK Financial Conduct Authority Enforcement Information Guide you requested.

As section 41 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosure Transparency of procedures

Factors in favour of withholding The policy and procedures have not yet been finalised

In taking these factors into account the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 369534 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post to us at
Isle of Man Financial Services Authority PO Box 58, Finch Hill House, Bucks Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1DT Tel: +44 (0)1624 646000 Website: www.iomfsa.im

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely