FCA Bans Senior Manager Howard Roland Duckett Over Lack of Honesty and Integrity

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned Howard Roland Duckett from working in the financial services sector, citing a serious lack of honesty and integrity. Mr Duckett served as an approved senior manager at debt management firm Beauforce Corporation Limited, holding the SMF3 (Executive Director) and SMF16 (Compliance Oversight) roles. The regulatory prohibition follows a High Court ruling that disqualified Mr Duckett from acting as a company director for 10 years, which took effect in December 2020, after he failed to maintain adequate records at an unrelated company. The court found that Mr Duckett repeatedly lied and attempted to rely on fabricated evidence to distance himself from the firm, including falsely asserting that a fictitious person was responsible for managing the business. Mr Duckett subsequently failed to inform the FCA of his director disqualification while acting as a senior manager. He referred the regulator's Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal, but the reference was later struck out. Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, noted that Mr Duckett constructed an elaborate fiction in an attempt to avoid disqualification and failed to disclose the action to the FCA, stating that he deserves to be banned from the industry. The FCA also noted that in November 2025, it placed restrictions on Beauforce Corporation Limited, preventing the firm from carrying out any regulated activities, such as providing debt advice or debt management services. The regulator ordered the firm to stop accepting customer funds and to return all money held in its bank accounts.