Restive regulators raised the stakes in second season of “Finfluencer Week of Action”

What’s “Geordie Shore”?

The British show on MTV and Paramount is a whole lot like its US predecessor, “Jersey Shore”—so lots of Jägerbombs, neck tattoos, household drama, and bachelorette parties that take a dark turn.

One difference though? Neither Snooki nor The Situation has pleaded guilty to illegally promoting financial products on social media. But that’s exactly what happened to Geordie Shore star Aaron Chalmers, who pleaded guilty in a case brought by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority in which he was accused of promoting crypto and other risky unregulated investments to his large Instagram and TikTok following without legal authorization from the FCA.

The regulator says more related enforcement actions are pending in connection to the case, which highlights the peril of engaging celebrity influencers who may not be particularly attuned to the nuances of securities laws.

The plea deal with Chalmers was announced as part of a worldwide “Week of Action,” crackdown on illegal finfluencers. It kicked off on April 20 and it concluded with an ominous message from the UK securities regulator that should keep social media company executives up at night.

A bigger global cast

This marks the second year in a row regulators across the globe have banded together for a concerted effort to crack down on unscrupulous finfluencers. And the sophomore season of this particular reality show was even more popular than the first. It involved a cast of 17 global regulators, a significant expansion from the nine that participated in 2025.

Newcomers included:

• The Central Bank of Ireland;

• The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority;

• Norway’s Finanstilsynet;

• Qatar’s Financial Markets Authority;

• The Singapore Monetary Authority, and;

• Brazil’s Comissão de Valores Mobiliários.

Italy’s CONSOB and the Alberta (Canada) Securities Commission were the only season one regulators that didn’t return to the house. Those that did participate showed their teeth. Among the regulatory actions associated with the Week of Action:

In addition to securing the plea from Chalmers, the FCA sent four targeted warning letters to suspected violators and issued 34 formal warning alerts. It also issued 120 account takedown requests and identified over 1,200 illegal ads that had reached more than 2.3 million accounts.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission secured a prison sentence against a finfluencer who was convicted for providing paid, unlicensed investment advice via a subscription-based chat group.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission issued warning notices to four finfluencers suspected of promoting “guaranteed returns.”.

New Zealand’s FMA targeted 14 finfluencers for legal breaches related to their online content. These enforcement contacts led to the immediate removal of misleading posts and resulted in several influencers choosing to stop their activities entirely to avoid further prosecution.

Indian regulators used the Week of Action to finalize a major enforcement action cancelling the banking license of Paytm Payments Bank following “persistent non-compliance” with regulatory standards. The move was highlighted as part of the broader effort to protect retail investors from high-risk or non-compliant digital financial services.

Is the FCA about to throw hands with TikTok?

Every bit as notable as the crackdown on individual finfluencers was a statement from the FCA issued as part of the Week of Action “calling for social media platforms to step up and play a more proactive role in stopping illegal financial promotions at source. Social media platforms are not doing enough to uphold their own policies to block illegal content.”

Like a dust-up where tables are upended and drinks are spilled, enforcement actions against individual financial influencers certainly make for solid reality TV drama. But the first time a regulator goes after a social media platform for failing to police finfluencers? That will be pulled out hair extensions-level appointment television.