FCA resumes legal dispute with hedge fund BlueCrest over $700m redress scheme

One year after scheme blocked by judge

The Financial Conduct Authority is back in court with billionaire Michael Platt’s BlueCrest Capital Management as it attempts to revive a $700m redress scheme that was blocked by a tribunal last year.

On Tuesday (23 July), three senior judges in London heard a legal challenge from the regulator over the Upper Tribunal's decision in July last year to rule in favour of the hedge fund and reject the FCA's demand for investor compensation. In December 2021, the UK's financial watchdog said it would fine BlueCrest £40.8m for an alleged conflict of interest, a move that was challenged by the London-based firm.  The FCA considered that, from 1 October 2011 to 31 December 2015, BlueCrest moved portfolio managers from the main client fund to its internal fund and partly replaced them with a...