UK Financial Conduct Authority: Individual Charged With Carrying On An Unauthorised Business And Misleading Investors

Between 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023, Mr Burford is alleged to have accepted money from more than 100 investors, and advised and managed investments on their behalf without authorisation.

Mr Burford was the sole director of Financial Trading Strategies Limited (FTS). Through its website, he promoted paid subscription services involving the provision of daily trade alerts which gave advice on trading opportunities as well as investments in 3 'Tramline' funds.

The FCA alleges that Mr Burford repeatedly misrepresented the value of the funds and the amount of money he had lost while trading.

Mr Burford will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on 23 May 2025.

This case took 23 months from opening in May 2023 to bringing criminal charges – compared to an average of 42 months for cases closed in 2023/24. This is another example of how the FCA is improving the pace of its enforcement investigations.

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said:

'Fighting financial crime is central to our new strategy and we will take action against criminal behaviour which harms consumers and damages the integrity of our markets. We allege that Mr Burford sought to defraud his clients for personal gain.'

Background

1. John Charles Burford was born on 23 February 1940.
2. The FCA is prosecuting Mr Burford for breaches of sections 19 and 23(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) namely by accepting deposits and advising on and managing investments while not being authorised.
3. The FCA is also prosecuting Mr Burford for a breach of section 993(1) of the Companies Act 2006 namely by carrying on the business of FTS for a fraudulent purpose and misleading investors as to the manner in which their money would be used.
4. Carrying out unauthorised business is an offence punishable by a fine and/or up to 2 years' imprisonment.
5. Fraudulent trading under section 993 of the Companies Act 2006 is an offence punishable by a fine and/or up to 10 years' imprisonment.
6. Find out more information about the FCA.