The Financial Services Authority (FSA) bans for life David Marriott of Target Underwriting Ltd. (Target) and Professional Insurance Select Ltd. (PISL) for his failure to segregate the money remitted by the clients as their insurance premiums from his firms’ money.

The FSA found Marriott to have used the clients’ insurance premiums to give himself and his staff bonuses and salary increases and to purchase a car for himself and a fellow director. He committed these offenses amidst worsening trading positions of Target and PISL. The insurance companies lost about ₤570,841 from his misappropriation. In his applications for authorization filed before the FSA, Marriott lied by declaring under oath that his clients’ money were safe and that he had conducted audit over it.

For the misuse of clients’ funds and knowingly misleading the FSA about his activities, the agency issued a lifetime ban against Marriott. Due to his financial position, he was not imposed a fine. On the other hand, it could be remembered that Simon Gowler, a director of the two firms, was fined by FSA in July 2008 for ₤5,000 for failing to oversee the firms’ finances and client money controls. The ban and the fine are part of FSA’s drive for the strict implementation of the rule that firms must keep client money in segregated accounts with trust status. This is geared towards protecting client money in case the firm becomes insolvent.

(Source: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2010/139.shtml)