Central Bank of Ireland issues Prohibition Notice to Mr Darren Gleeson under the Fitness and Probity Regime

Following a fitness and probity investigation conducted in accordance with Section 25 of the Central Bank Reform Act 2010, a Prohibition Notice has issued against Mr Darren Gleeson, of Portroe, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, formerly a director of a retail intermediary firm, prohibiting him from carrying out any controlled functions, including pre-approval controlled functions, in any regulated financial service provider for an indefinite period.

The Fitness and Probity Regime

The Central Bank Reform Act 2010 (the “2010 Act”) gave the Central Bank a consolidated power to approve senior appointments to regulated firms and powers to investigate, suspend, or prohibit persons from the financial services industry where concerns arise about their fitness and/or probity.

Under the 2010 Act, the Central Bank issued a statutory code specifying the standards of Fitness and Probity with which all persons performing controlled functions or pre-approval controlled functions shall, at a minimum, comply (the “F&P Standards”). The F&P Standards provide that a person performing a controlled function or pre-approval controlled function is required to be:

• Competent and capable.
• Honest, ethical and to act with integrity.
• financially sound.

One of the core functions of the Fitness and Probity Regime is to protect consumers from dealings with persons in controlled functions unless such persons are competent and capable, honest, ethical and of integrity and also financially sound. The regime allows the Central Bank to prohibit persons, by way of a Prohibition Notice, where it is found that a person is not of such fitness and/or probity as is appropriate to perform a particular controlled function or any controlled function (which includes pre-approval controlled functions).