June 6 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog has

joined forces with foreign regulators to crack down on people

who promote financial products on social media without

authorisation, and will make 650 requests for platforms to

remove content, it said on Friday.

The Financial Conduct Authority said it had teamed up with

regulators from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Italy and the

United Arab Emirates for a coordinated week of action against

the illegal financial promotions.

It provided no further details on other regulators' actions

or the extent of their cooperation with their British

counterparts.

Financial regulators around the world have become

increasingly concerned about the rise of "finfluencers", who use

their social media accounts to promote financial products or

give financial advice.

The FCA last year warned influencers that promoting a

financial product without regulatory approval could be a

criminal offence.

In the UK's latest crackdown, police have arrested three

people, and the FCA has sent seven cease-and-desist letters. It

has also issued 50 warning alerts, which will lead to 650

takedown requests for social media platforms and 50 takedown

requests for websites operated by unauthorised financial

influencers, the watchdog said.

"Our message to finfluencers is loud and clear. They must

act responsibly and only promote financial products where they

are authorised to do so - or face the consequences," said Steve

Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market

oversight at the FCA.

The FCA last year charged nine people over a foreign

exchange trading scheme promoted on social media. Their trials

are due to take place in 2027.

Separately on Friday, parliament's treasury committee of

lawmakers said it had written to Facebook and Instagram owner

Meta asking for information on its approach to

financial influencers.

The committee said it was reviewing evidence from the

FCA that Meta is slower to remove harmful content than other

social media platforms.