The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned Neil Bartlett after he was jailed for eight years for his involvement in a multi-million-pound investment fraud.
Bartlett used £4.5m ($5.59m, €5.14m) of his victims’ money to fund an “extravagant lifestyle of foreign travel, top hotels and gambling”, according to Merseyside Police in 2019.
On 8 April, the FCA said in a final notice that it “decided to make an order prohibiting him from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity carried on by any authorised person, exempt person or exempt professional firm”.
Bartlett had not referred the matter to a tribunal within 28 days of the date on which the decision notice was given.
The prohibition order takes effect from 8 April 2020.
Details
At the time of Bartlett’s conviction, the police said there were 24 victims of the fraud, which started in approximately 2013 and continued for five years.
In 2018, he reportedly “took over £740,000 from friends he had known since school, together with his friend’s parents and his own family”.
He also “took advantage of being the power of attorney for a vulnerable elderly victim and defrauded her”.
He left the UK for Russia in 2018, where he was living the high life in top hotels, foreign travel and gambling on the stock market.
Bartlett was arrested after flying back into Manchester Airport on 27 November 2018.
The following month, he pleaded guilty to 14 counts of fraud at Liverpool Crown Court and asked for 14 further fraud offences to be taken into consideration.
Bogus
The FCA said: “The judge in sentencing, remarked that Mr Bartlett’s conduct had a devastating effect on the victims, who lost large amounts of money, saved by them for years in some cases, and representing essentially all of their assets in some cases.
“The judge further remarked that Mr Bartlett was a financial adviser and used a web of deceit to encourage investments into bogus schemes.”
