RESTRICTIONS have been placed on a financial advice firm amid fears its sole director may have misappropriated "at least" £1.15m of a client’s funds.

West Wellow-based Campbell & Associates has been banned from carrying out any regulated activity and cannot reduce the value of its assets without the consent of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Lisa Maureen Campbell is listed as the sole active director of the firm and is holder of senior management functions.

The FCA said it was "concerned" the director may have managed a client’s funds without the required permission and may have failed to repay the client's funds as promised.

Campbell & Associates has permission to provide advice and arrange deals but does not have consent to hold client funds.

A FCA report says: "In July 2022, a consumer transferred a total of £1.5 million to the firm’s bank account, having accepted the firm’s advice to invest in bonds due to mature in January 2023.

"The consumer was told the funds were to be invested in bonds issued by a bank.

"The firm provided the consumer with a number of documents seeking to prove the investment had been made via the bank. However, the bank has confirmed it does not offer such bonds and has no record of any investment relating to this consumer having been made.

"The Authority obtained the firm’s own bank statements.

"An analysis of those statements shows that, contrary to what the consumer had been told, the funds were not invested in any kind of investment.

"In fact, the statements appear to show that between July 2022 and January 2023, the consumer’s funds were transferred to the personal accounts of the firm’s director or otherwise used to purchase a property for the director to live in.

"The consumer repeatedly contacted the firm to arrange for their investment to be repaid as planned.

"In response, the firm’s director advised the consumer to 'roll-over' the investment, claimed the repayments had been made, claimed the repayments had been made but were being erroneously held up by the firm’s bank, and claimed the investment had been accidentally rolled over and could not be repaid.

"An analysis of the firm’s bank accounts shows the firm’s director had misappropriated the great majority of the funds and there were insufficient funds in the firm’s bank account to make the repayment.

"The firm has since repaid a proportion of the funds. However, £1.15m remains unpaid, along with any accrued interest.

"Once the consumer had expressed their concerns to the director about their failure to repay the funds owed, the director appears to have falsely claimed that their plan of action to remedy the issue included a meeting that they had scheduled with the Authority, during which they would fully disclose the details of the incident and set out their plans to put things right.

"The firm’s director has not made contact with the Authority in connection with this matter and no such meeting was ever scheduled.

"It appears the Firm’s director may have misappropriated at least £1.15 million of client funds."