Fines imposed in 2014 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority more than doubled from the previous year despite a decrease in the number of cases, according to an analysis of Finra actions by Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, a Washington, D.C., law firm.

Fines levied by the self-regulator of securities firms for violations totaled approximately $135 million in 2014, an increase of 125% from the $60 million in fines imposed the year before. Yet according to the analysis, only 1,397 disciplinary actions were filed in 2014, a decrease of 9% from the 1,535 cases the regulator initiated in 2013.

The 2014 total is the largest amount in fines imposed by Finra since the financial crisis. Fines have increased by 382% since 2008, when Finra reported $28 million in total, according to Sutherland.

Finra also ordered firms and their representatives to pay approximately $52 million in restitution in 2014, a new record for the organization, and an increase of 420% from 2013’s $10 million.

The number of firms expelled by Finra declined from 24 in 2013 to 18 in 2014, a decrease of 25%.

However, the number of individuals suspended rose in 2014 to 705 from 670 in 2013, an increase of 5%. And the number of individuals barred rose from 429 in 2013 to 481 in 2014, an increase of 12%.

This is the second year in a row where the number of firms that were expelled decreased significantly even as the number of individuals suspended or barred increased.

Research analyst and research report cases received the most fines, according to Sutherland’s analysis. This was partially attributable to one $15 million fine, Finra’s largest in 2014, which resulted from allegations that Citigroup failed to supervise the communications of its equity research analysts with clients and the firm’s sales and trading staff during a nine-year period.

Advertising cases, which deal with firms’ communications with the public or between analysts and clients, resulted in the second-highest amount of fines in 2014, as 31 cases resulted in $17.2 million in total fines. This increase of 514%, from $2.8 million last year, was largely attributed to the $15 million Citigroup case, which also involved allegations about improper promotions at IPO road shows.

For the first time, best execution appears on Sutherland’s top enforcement issues list. “Best execution” means pricing securities fairly when trading with customers, as well as having policies in place to ensure proper pricing. These cases resulted in $14 million in fines in 2014, the third-largest total for the year. One significant 2014 best execution case resulted in a fine of $1.9 million against a firm that allegedly paid unfair prices for distressed securities in more than 700 retail customer transactions during a two-year period.

Money laundering cases resulted in the fourth-largest amount of Finra fines for the year. The $13.2 million in fines was a 144% increase from $5.4 million in fines imposed in 2013. A significant portion of these fines stemmed from an $8 million penalty assessed against Brown Brothers Harriman for allegedly failing to have an adequate anti-money-laundering program to detect, monitor and investigate suspicious penny stock trades.

Sutherland does an annual review of Finra fines by examining the agency’s monthly disciplinary notices and press releases, as well as cases reported in major news sources. A Finra spokeswoman says the agency has no comment on Sutherland’s findings.