While thousands of British citizens await justice after being financially exploited, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) takes another hollow victory lap—this time, trumpeting the guilty plea of an 85-year-old man who defrauded investors of just over £1 million. The FCA’s statement?
“Identifying and disrupting criminals who abuse people’s trust for their own gain is a top priority.”
That would be comforting—if it weren’t so disingenuous.
A Convenient Distraction
Let’s be clear. John Burford, the man in question, is guilty. He misled over 100 investors, ran unauthorised business activities, lied about fund values, and lived off their losses. His actions are appalling. But the FCA’s self-congratulatory tone rings hollow in the context of their ongoing refusal to even acknowledge far greater and systemic abuses.
Tens of thousands of British victims—many of them pensioners, NHS workers, and expats—have lost life-altering sums, totalling tens of billions in pension and investment scams. These weren’t isolated incidents. These were structurally enabled frauds, aided by deregulation, offshore loopholes, and a culture of indifference inside the regulatory machine.
When survivors write to the FCA, they’re told:
“It’s not our concern. Stop writing to us.”
No investigation. No confiscation. No restitution. No accountability.
The Real Issue: Systemic Neglect
The FCA’s PR playbook is clear:
- Find a lone fraudster.
- Prosecute.
- Publicise the win.
- Ignore the real scandals involving powerful firms, major law breaches, and institutional cover-ups.
This is reputation washing—a deliberate move to launder public trust through a narrow, controlled narrative. Meanwhile, the victims of large-scale, industry-enabled financial abuse are silenced, dismissed, or blamed.
How many more lives must be destroyed before the FCA admits the deeper problem? That the real criminals aren’t just rogue traders or elderly conmen—but a system that fails to protect and a regulator that protects its own image above all else.
A Call to Justice
If justice is truly a top priority, the FCA must stop cherry-picking prosecutions and start addressing:
- Regulatory failings that allowed QROPS and SIPPs scams to thrive unchecked.
- Professional enablers who operated with FCA permissions.
- Years of ignored whistleblowers and red-flag warnings.
- The institutionalised gaslighting of victims seeking redress.
The public deserves more than token victories and recycled press releases. They deserve truth. They deserve accountability. And they deserve a regulator that serves them, not the reputation of the financial services industry.
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).
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