By Steve Conley, Founder – Academy of Life Planning
This week, the FCA proudly trumpeted its latest scalp: two siblings convicted for insider dealing and money laundering worth just over £1 million. Redinel Korfuzi, a research analyst, and his sister Oerta were found guilty of exploiting confidential information to profit from 13 market trades between 2019 and 2021. The FCA’s press office wasted no time publicising the case—another “success story” for the regulator’s fight against financial crime.
But let’s call this what it really is: a carefully curated distraction.
While the FCA devotes its enforcement muscle to headline-grabbing low-hanging fruit—relatively small-time crooks operating in plain sight—it continues to ignore the whales swimming in deep, dark waters. Chief among them? A £10 billion fraud involving offshore pensions sold to unsuspecting British citizens by British advisers, on British soil, over the course of a decade.
Tens of thousands of UK expats have lost life savings through pension schemes funneled into opaque international jurisdictions. Despite years of warnings, whistleblower reports, and publicly available evidence, this vast network of exploitation remains largely uninvestigated and unpunished. No dawn raids. No press conferences. No justice.
A System Built to Look the Other Way
Why the silence?
Because the moment the FCA confronts the real scale of misconduct in the pensions and offshore investment sector, the facade crumbles. The scam doesn’t just implicate a few bad apples—it exposes a whole orchard of complicit actors: regulated firms, legal enablers, trustees, and policymakers. Acknowledging the fraud would mean admitting that London, the Crown Dependencies, and British Commonwealth territories have become safe havens for illicit wealth and financial abuse.
It would also threaten the government’s “growth agenda.” The UK’s ambition to make London a magnet for global capital—including the murky kind—relies on maintaining a veneer of integrity while quietly waving through dirty money. If the full truth were told, Britain’s reputation as a financial hub might suffer. And in the cold calculus of power, consumer protection doesn’t pay.
Publicity Over Protection
There’s no doubt the Korfuzi case deserved investigation. But let’s be honest—£1 million is a sprat compared to the billions lost in regulatory black holes like QROPS (Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes) and international SIPPs. The FCA’s selective enforcement sends a chilling message: if your fraud is big, offshore, and structurally embedded, you’re probably safe.
Instead of draining the swamp, the regulator is picking off frogs at the edges.
Steve Smart, the FCA’s joint executive director of enforcement, said:
“We are committed to fighting financial crime and protecting the integrity of our markets.”
But protecting market integrity doesn’t mean chasing only those criminals who are easiest to catch—it means tackling the entrenched systems that enable large-scale abuse. It means serving the public, not the City. It means recognising that the real insider dealing may lie not in a few trades, but in the unspoken pacts between regulators, firms, and lawmakers that allow injustice to persist.
Final Thought
If the FCA wants to be taken seriously, it must stop acting like a PR agency for its own enforcement team. Start investigating the complex, messy, systemic frauds that ruin lives—no matter how politically inconvenient they may be.
Until then, every press release about a small-time conviction is not a win. It’s a reminder of what still lies untouched beneath the surface.
Steve Conley
Founder, Academy of Life Planning
Leader, Get SAFE Initiative
Advocate for Financial Justice | Peer Mentor | Former Industry Insider
About Get SAFE
Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation) was born from a simple truth: too many victims of financial abuse are left to suffer in silence.
We exist in memory of Ian Davis—for the ones who did everything right, only to be failed by the systems they trusted. We know that behind every vanished pension, every ignored complaint, and every stonewalled letter is a person—frightened, exhausted, and too often alone.
Get SAFE offers more than sympathy. We offer structure, support, and solidarity.
We provide a voice where there’s been silence, and clarity where there’s been confusion.
We stand beside those who have been exploited, not just to help them recover—but to help them reclaim their story and rebuild their future.
Because financial justice is not a luxury.
It’s a human right.
If you or someone you know has been affected by financial exploitation, we are here.
You are not alone.
Learn more at: Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation).
Academy of Life Planning 