Disgraced financial adviser Craig Warriner debarred for 30 years by Financial Sector Conduct Authority

Following an in-depth investigation of all activities from 7 February 2013 to 30 September 2023, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has debarred disgraced financial adviser Craig Warriner for 30 years. During this time, he will not be allowed to:

• provide, or be involved in the provision of, financial services;


• act as a key person of a financial institution; and/or


• provide specified financial services to a financial institution, whether under outsourcing arrangements or otherwise.

Warriner hit the headlines in October last year when he handed himself in to authorities and admitted that he had been running a Ponzi scam that allegedly ran into billions of rands.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Investments in BHI Trust at risk following arrest of fund manager for fraud

On further investigation, the FSCA found that the BHI Trust and Warriner, in his capacity as a trustee of BHI Trust, acted as discretionary financial services providers (FSPs) in that they exercised discretion in buying and selling securities on behalf of several clients. To do this, they should have had a category II FSP license and they did not. Warriner also rendered financial services to clients on behalf of BHI Trust while it was not authorised as an FSP. Both these offences were a transgression of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act. Warriner appeared in the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes court in April 2024, and is scheduled for another court appearance later in May.

Don’t get caught by fraudsters

The FSCA advises that when accessing financial services and/or financial advice, you should check:

• that an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for giving recommendations about how to invest.


• what category of advice the person is registered to provide, as there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product and then offer advice on far more complex and risky products.


• that the FSP number utilised by the entity or individual offering financial services matches to name of the FSP on the FSCA database.

You can confirm a service provider’s status and FSP number by calling the toll-free number: 0800 110 443; conducting an online search for authorised financial institutions by license category; or conducting an online search for a financial institution that is an authorised FSP in terms of the FAIS Act. DM