FSA bans broker for dishonesty and high pressure sales tactics

The regulator reviewed 11 transactions including recorded telephone calls, involving Somal between December 2005 and May 2006. In four of the transactions, Somal was found to have been dishonest by recording the purchase of shares worth £59,000 against clients' accounts without their permission. Customers would have only known about the sale when they received a demand for payment. Somal also made inaccurate and misleading claims about the high risk shares and used high pressure methods to convince customers to buy them. Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement, said: "Mr Somal used ...