About a-team Marketing Services

A-Team Insight Blogs

FCA Fines Citigroup Global Markets £12.5 Million for Market Abuse Failings

Subscribe to our newsletter

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued Citigroup Global Markets with a fine of more than £12 million for failing to properly implement the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) trade surveillance requirements. The failure meant that Citigroup Global Markets could not effectively monitor its trading activities for certain types of insider dealing and market manipulation.

MAR, introduced in 2016, mandates that firms must monitor both orders and trades to detect potential and attempted market abuse, across a broad range of markets and financial instruments.

The FCA found that the firm failed to properly implement the new requirement when it was introduced, and took a further 18 months to identify and assess the specific market abuse risks its business may have been exposed to as a result. The flawed implementation resulted in significant gaps in the firm’s arrangements, systems, and procedures for additional trade surveillance, according to the FCA.

“The framework for market integrity depends on the partnership between the FCA and market participants using data to detect suspicious trading,” commented Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA. “By not fully implementing the new provisions when required, Citigroup Global Markets did not carry its full weight in this partnership, impacting market integrity and the overall detection of market abuse.”

Citigroup Global Markets has agreed to resolve the case and qualified for a discount, reducing what would have been an £18 million fine by 30%. In a statement, the firm said it was pleased to put the matter behind it.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Upcoming Webinar: Hearing from the Experts: AI Governance Best Practices

9 September 2025 10:00am ET | 3:00pm London | 4:00pm CET Duration: 50 Minutes The rapid spread of artificial intelligence in the financial industry presents data teams with novel challenges. AI’s ability to harvest and utilize vast amounts of data has raised concerns about the privacy and security of sensitive proprietary data and the ethical...

BLOG

European Exchanges’ Reliance on Market Data Revenues Stifles Growth and Innovation, MSP Study Finds

A study by Market Structure Partners (MSP) has highlighted how Europe’s largest stock exchanges are increasingly relying on market data sales to maintain overall revenues despite a significant downturn in equity trading volumes, market share, and customer base. The research, commissioned by a coalition of trade and industry associations, critiques the evolving fee structures of...

EVENT

RegTech Summit London

Now in its 9th year, the RegTech Summit in London will bring together the RegTech ecosystem to explore how the European capital markets financial industry can leverage technology to drive innovation, cut costs and support regulatory change.

GUIDE

AI in Capital Markets: Practical Insight for a Transforming Industry – Free Handbook

AI is no longer on the horizon – it’s embedded in the infrastructure of modern capital markets. But separating real impact from inflated promises requires a grounded, practical understanding. The AI in Capital Markets Handbook 2025 provides exactly that. Designed for data-driven professionals across the trade life-cycle, compliance, infrastructure, and strategy, this handbook goes beyond...