FSCS recovers £100m from Keydata collapse

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has recovered £100m so far in compensation for the failing of life settlement firm.

FSCS recovers £100m from Keydata collapse

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The recovery means fund managers which contributed to half of a levy to compensate investors, will be refunded £50m. The fund managers were initially ordered to pay £233m to compensate around 20,000 Keydata investors.
 
Legal action has also been taken against the financial advisers who mis-sold Keydata products to clients by failing to give a complete picture of the risks. 
 
Keydata Investment Services collapsed in June 2009 after it sold products which it falsely claimed to hold ISA status. Subsequent investigations by the appointed administrator, PricewaterhouseCoopers, found a number of further problems with the business and related Luxembourg company SLS, including the misappropriation of assets. 
 
In a blog published on the FSCS website, chief executive, Mark Neale, said: “We have already recovered several times more than we have incurred in costs through this legal action.  
 
“Where we achieve recoveries, we return the value to levy payers, either in the form of a cheque in the post or in the form of a credit against future levies. This is a responsibility we take very seriously.”
 
As well as taking action against third parties responsible for Keydata consumer losses, Neale said FSCS “won’t pursue recoveries as a punishment or for the sake of it” and is focused on maximising value for those who contributed to the levy. 
 
Eligible claimants can be paid up to £48,000 in compensation, and last year financial intermediaries received £30m which was used to offset the costs of compensation and the costs of recoveries.
 
The organisation continues to take action and will publish a full account of its recoveries next year.
 

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