Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he received reports of the Ready to Invest scam; and whether his Department was aware that the Financial Conduct Authority had been notified of related fraudulent activities in 2010.

Ready2Invest was an unauthorised firm that went into liquidation in 2013.

The FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. Matters of fraud are the responsibility of the police, not the FCA. However, it is the responsibility of the FCA, as an independent regulator to investigate and decide upon the appropriate course of action when it identifies potential cases of investment fraud. I understand that this matter has been referred to the relevant law enforcement agencies and it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing investigation.

Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it has strictly limited powers. In particular, the Treasury cannot intervene in individual cases and does not monitor individual financial services firms.