Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Explanatory Notes

Section 24: False claims to be authorised or exempt

67.This creates an offence of falsely describing oneself, or holding oneself out, as authorised or exempt in relation to a particular regulated activity.  It is a defence for a  person accused of this offence to prove that he exercised due diligence and took all reasonable precautions to avoid committing the offence.

68.Under subsection (3) a person found guilty of this offence is liable on summary conviction to a maximum of 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (currently £5,000).  If the offence results from the public display of material, subsection (4) permits a fine of up to the statutory maximum (currently £5,000), to be multiplied by the number of days for which any material giving rise to the offence was on public display.

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