The former deputy CEO of asset manager H2O, Jean-Noel Alba, has been fined £1m by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and banned from the financial services industry.

An investigation by the regulator found that Alba “lacked integrity” having misled the FCA.

Between April 2015 and November 2019, H2O failed to carry out proper due diligence on investments relating to the Tennor Group of companies owned by Lars Windhorst, or companies he introduced.

The FCA described these investments as “high risk and hard to sell”, leaving investor money trapped. In 2024, the FCA agreed that H2O would pay those investors €250m.

During the investigation into H2O, Alba also provided false and misleading statements and documentation to the FCA.

The regulator revealed that Alba had asked junior colleagues to create minutes, including records and minutes of committees, where no formal meetings had taken place. Alba also provided due diligence materials, such as investment research, to the FCA that had been created years after the investments had been made, when he had claimed they were produced at the time.

Joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, Steve Smart said: “Senior leaders in financial services need to act with integrity. Mr Alba fell well short of those basic standards.

“He has no place in the industry. This ban and substantial fine should serve as a warning to others that if you mislead the FCA, you will face the consequences.”

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