Three people have been arrested as part of an FCA crackdown on suspected illegal financial promotions.
Two properties in the Chelmsford and Romford areas were searched as part of an operation led by the FCA and the Eastern Regional Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), a specialist policing unit that tackles serious and organised crime.
The FCA reminded consumers that adverts from firms that are not FCA-regulated can be a warning sign of a scam.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 gives the FCA powers to investigate and prosecute unauthorised businesses.
Making unauthorised financial promotions can lead to a fine and up to two years’ in prison under the Act. Making misleading statements is punishable by a fine and/or up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
The three individuals have been interviewed under caution as part of an ongoing investigation.
The regulator said it could not comment further at this time, due to the ongoing investigation.
The arrests come as part of a crackdown on authorised financial promotions by the regulator.
Seven social media ‘finfluencers’ were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court in February for their role in promoting an unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme.
The seven include stars from TV shows Love Island and Towie, including high profile celebrity Lauren Goodger.
The seven used Instagram to promote a foreign exchange trading scheme to followers. The combined following of the Instagram accounts for the individuals was 4.5 million.
The case was brought the FCA and is one of the first cases where social media influencers have been fined for involvement in promoting an unauthorised financial product.
Enforcement action taken against finfluencers by the FCA rose 174% in 2025 to 74 actions.
Enforcement actions rose 7300% between 2023 and 2025.
Just 13% of these enforcement actions involved criminal action or arrests, with the regulator favouring warning alerts (50 cases) and interviews (40 cases).