Legal Counsel-Investigation Officer

Would you like to contribute as an investigating legal counsel to building trust in the financial sector and to protecting consumers?

The FSMA may impose administrative fines in the event of infringements of financial laws and regulations with which it supervises compliance. As an investigating legal counsel, you will investigate serious evidence of such infringements and you will be an essential link in the sanction proceedings of the FSMA.

You will join a multidisciplinary team mainly composed of legal counsels, responsible for conducting investigations into the various areas of the FSMA's supervision. Investigations often relate to insider dealing and market manipulation but may also target infringements identified in a number of other areas, such as those governed by the prospectus legislation and MiFID conduct of business rules.

You will have the opportunity to investigate potential infringements in all areas of the FSMA's supervision.

To document those investigations, you will request written information or telecommunications data, conduct hearings of witnesses and suspects, seize data, and cooperate if needed with foreign financial regulators and judicial authorities. You will have regular team discussions on the strategic approach and progress of the investigation. Depending on the case, you will work independently or in a team. Whatever the composition of the investigation team, a coordinator, the deputy investigations officer and the investigations officer will always provide support.

Furthermore, you will analyze the facts of the case from a legal perspective. You will put down your findings in an objective and well-substantiated report, to which the defendant may respond. You will then present the dossier to the FSMA's Management Committee. The Management Committee may request further investigative actions, submit the file to the Sanctions Committee, accept an agreed settlement or close the case. You will be closely involved in reaching agreed settlements and you will take part in the hearings of the Sanctions Committee.

You will provide assistance from time to time to foreign financial regulators needing to investigate an aspect of a case in Belgium by following up on requests for information, holding hearings or performing other investigative actions to support these cross-border investigations.

You will exchange knowhow with the other members of the team on a regular basis. Sharing investigative knowledge and experience allows us to draw operational and legal lessons from all of the team's investigations, regardless of who conducts them.

• A Master's degree in law.
• Familiarity with financial legislation or the willingness to acquire such familiarity in the short term.
• 3 to 5 years' experience in civil, criminal and/or administrative law. Practical experience in litigation is an asset.
• An analytical mind combined with an excellent capacity for synthesis.
• Solid competence in Dutch and French.
• Ability to communicate in a clear and structured manner both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Professionalism: competence, precision and commitment to advancement.

• The chance to do your bit for consumer protection.
• A competitive salary package, with many fringe benefits (including group and hospitalization insurance, full reimbursement of the costs of commuting to/from work, budget-friendly company dining room, contribution to your mobile phone and internet subscription, additional non-statutory holidays, bank holidays, etc.).
• A wide range of opportunities for training and development.
• Flexible working hours.
• Good work/life balance (possibility of teleworking).
• Opportunities for internal mobility.
• Easy to reach offices in central Brussels.

Each member of the FSMA staff is subject to a strict code of ethics and is bound by the obligation of professional secrecy.

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