ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of financial services regulation in the UK up to 2010, and the role of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). In June 2010, the chancellor announced the government's intention to reform the current regulatory architecture due to the financial crisis. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) created new concepts in financial services, for example the concept of 'market abuse' and passed responsibility for dealing with these matters to the FSA. The principal team that deals with financial crime is the FSA's Financial Crime Sector Team. The regulated community is diverse in terms of the firms that are authorised by the FSA and the activities that they engage in. As such, they are potentially both a target of financial crime and fraud, and a potential conduit for financial crime activities, or may be directly involved in the commission of fraud and financial crime.
