Ex-HSBC banker barred from finance after train fare evasion conviction
Joseph Molloy, a former HSBC executive, used a method called "donutting" to avoid almost $8,000 of train fares.
A former HSBC executive learned that a train ticket can become a career-ending expense in finance. Joseph Molloy was barred on Thursday by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority from regulated financial services work after a criminal conviction for dodging fares. Molloy, 53, who until his retirement last year was the head of passive equity at HSBC Asset Management, used a method called "donutting" on journeys from his home on the outskirts of London to HSBC's office in the city.
Instead of buying a ticket for his whole commute, he bought tickets for short journeys at either end, leaving an unpaid "hole" in the middle. Prosecutors said he used false names and addresses to obtain multiple travel cards and improperly claimed a travel discount intended for unemployed job seekers. The court heard the plan was used 740 times over 11 months, avoiding £5,911, or roughly $7,900, in fares.
In February, Inner London Crown Court sentenced Molloy to 10 months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He was barred from the railway operator for a year, ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and pay £5,000, around $6,605 in compensation, plus costs and a victim surcharge. The Financial Conduct Authority issued what amounts to a lifetime prohibition from the industry.
FCA-regulated firms cannot employ Molloy in a regulated role unless the regulator later lifts the ban. The agency said the conviction showed a "clear and serious" lack of honesty and integrity, so he was not "fit and proper" for regulated work. In the US, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, oversees brokerage firms and the brokers who work for them.
It can permanently bar brokers from the industry, typically for misconduct involving clients or securities. The FCA’s power is broader: it can prohibit someone from working in regulated finance if it decides they are not fit and proper, including because of dishonesty outside the office. The lesson for bankers: an off-the-clock fraud can still call professional trustworthiness into question.
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