Tag: 55% tax

Cold calling ban still not approved

FT adviser published an article entitled, Cold calling ban approved by committee. However, do not get too excited as it hasn’t actually been approved by Parliament or got anywhere closer to being included in UK legislation.

Plans to ban cold calling were announced back in August 2017. Scammers love to cold call their victims and hard sell them their schemes. But it seems the number of people being targeted by scammers has risen immensely despite campaigns by the FCA and tPR.

In our opinion, there should be a blanket ban on cold calling and it should have happened many years ago. There really is no debate necessary. Scammers use cold calling techniques to lure their victims in. If they were not allowed to do this, there would be a significant reduction in scams.

Just this week, I have had two scam emails sent to me. One supposedly from HSBC (with whom I don’t bank!) and one supposedly from HMRC. The bank email told me I needed to log into my internet banking via their link and add my card details. The HMRC one promised me a tax rebate if I followed their link and input my credit card details!

To my relatively informed eye, it was obvious these were scam emails, but the offer of money back from HMRC did have a certain compelling lure to it. Several hundred pounds just before Christmas, yes please! However, I haven’t completed my tax return yet and very much doubt HMRC owe me anything. With tempting offers like this, it is easy to see how people can be lulled into a false sense of security, especially by a smooth talking salesman.

In so many scams, we hear the same thing; “I was called by a lovely man and he told me he could make my pension value increase if I transferred into…..but now my pension pot is worth less – much less.” The sad truth is that invariably the salesman is based offshore, is completely unqualified and only interested in the high commissions he will get from selling you a thoroughly inappropriate investment. He will probably sell you a useless life bond too. Both of which will take a huge chunk of your pot before it has actually been invested anywhere.

The government has apologised for missing their deadline on passing this law, but I guess with all this Brexit chaos they are somewhat distracted. Given that they are unable to make a decision or deal on Brixit, I would guess they might struggle with passing a law that would protect their hardworking, tax-paying citizens.

I would also like to suggest that passing the ban might not be quite in the British government’s best interest. Often victims who have been scammed, have also liberated a cash amount out of their pension and this is taxable. 55% taxable to be precise. Therefore, by allowing the scams to go on, HMRC can coin in more tax revenues.

So, as we cannot count on our government to protect us from the cold calling scams, Pension Life is here to help.

Cold called? HANG UP!!!!

You don’t have to say anything, but if you do, make sure it’s something along the lines of:

“Buzz off.”

Trolley’s Pension Scam Guide

In a perfect world, we would also like to see an international ban on the following:

Unregulated advisory firms

Unqualified advisers

Commission on financial products

Life bonds – such as Old Mutual International, SEB, Generali and RL360

Structured notes

Investment funds with entry and exit fees

UK residents being put into QROPS

Retail investors being put into UCIS funds

AND, WE’D LIKE TO SEE LIFE OFFICES AND ADVISORY FIRMS COMPENSATING VICTIMS OF MIS-SELLING, NEGLIGENCE, AND FRAUD.

December 31, 2018
High Court finally winds up the truffle saga pension scam

This could possibly be described as wonderful news for the victims of Viceroy Jones New Tech Ltd, Viceroy Jones Overseas PCC Limited, Westcountrytruffles Limited, Truffle Sales Ltd and Credit Free Limited. Or maybe not. The whereabouts of the funds is unknown. This pension liberation and investment scam saw 100 investors conned out of £9m of their pension savings.

The full story can be read here:

https://www.ftadviser.com/pensions/2018/12/13/companies-behind-9m-pension-truffle-scam-shut-down/?utm_campaign=FTAdviser+news&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=

In short, Viceroy Jones used unregulated financial advisory firms to persuade victims to invest in ‘high-value truffles for commercial sales’. With the promise of high returns on this fixed-term investment (lasting 15 years), investors believed they would reap the benefits once the truffles were harvested.

No truffles were ever harvested.

In reality, the investment saw most of the £9m of funds invested being paid into offshore bank accounts. These funds were then paid out in high commissions to the unregulated advisers who mis-sold the scheme. No supporting documents have been found regarding these investments, so the whereabouts of any remaining funds is unknown.

As I said above, it is only possibly wonderful news for the victims. Whilst the company has been wound up, the victims have been promised no compensation and do not know where their money is. This is a not an uncommon situation in scams like these. The victims of Peter Moat’s company – Fast Pensions, also do not know where their funds have gone.

Cheryl Lambert, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

“We take the matter of unregulated pension liberation investment schemes very seriously and will take action to stop any such schemes who have acted unscrupulously.”

However, I feel I have to disagree.

What message does the Insolvency Service send?!?

Are the perpetrators behind bars? NO!

Are the perpetrators having all their assets frozen and liquidated to pay the victim’s back? NO!

Are the perpetrators facing life without a pension? I DOUBT IT!

Are the perpetrators sorry for what they did? I DOUBT IT!

There is a long list of other pensions scammers who have scammed millions out of the public and still walk freely, creating new scam after new scam.

But to name a few of the scammers:

XXXX XXXX

Stephen Ward

Peter and Sara Moat

Phillip Nunn

David Vilka

Some of the scams they have sold:

Ark pension liberation scam

Capita Oak

Continental Wealth Management

Blackmore Global Fund

Fast Pensions

See our blog on the Top 10 Deadliest Pension Scammers.

Winding up these companies is often of little help to the scam victims. What is left of their funds (if any) is passed on to another trustee (often Dalriada) to deal with the ‘clean up’. This action, however, is not without cost and often the funds just sit there doing nothing.

Take the Ark victims whose schemes were transferred to Dalriada – they have not had any compensation in the seven and a half years Dalriada has acted as their trustees. Dalriada, however, has continued – without fail – to charge their yearly fees and costs, further decimating the victims’ funds. AND without any suggestion of what will happen next!

Furthermore, victims that fell prey to these scams, face more stress as they are also contending with HMRC. The Taxman is sending out demands for huge tax bills, as they claim the money the victims liberated (“borrowed”) from the Ark schemes was not tax free. 55% tax is applied to money that was liberated from pension funds – this is deemed an “unauthorised payment charge” by HMRC.

The High Court needs to do a lot more than this, to send a clear message to these scammers. Prosecutions, jail sentences and large fines would be a good start.

All enquiries concerning the affairs of the companies should be made to: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 4 Abbey Orchard Street, London, SW1P 2HT. Telephone: 0207 637 1110, Email: piu.or@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk.

Cartoon blog – Don’t be the next pension scam victim

December 18, 2018
FCA launches new ScamSmart campaign

Here at Pension Life, we are constantly trying to raise awareness about pension scams. The Financial Conduct Authority – FCA – has also been busy. Pairing up with the Pensions Regulator – tPR – they have published the ScamSmart campaign with the slogan – Be ScamSmart with your pension.

With the ScamSmart campaign, they have also made a video and published it on YouTube. Here is the video for you to watch:

Whilst I think it is great that they are publishing videos as part of the ScamSmart campaign, I can´t help but feel that they spent a large chunk of their budget on some bloke whizzing around on a jet ski.

The video does highlight what people need to look out for to be ScamSmart, but the repeated flashes back to the jet skier whooping loudly are, in my opinion, very distracting. I feel they deviate from the message they are trying to get across.

I would like to highlight that the rider of the jet ski does bear a remarkable resemblance to Phillip Nunn, cold caller and “fund manager” of the Blackmore Global investment scam. Blackmore Global was promoted by David Vilka of Square Mile International – David Vilka´s firm is not regulated to provide pensions and investment advice. However, he has never been prosecuted by the FCA for his involvement in this scam.

Phillip Nunn´s lawyers, Slater and Gordon, threatened Angie with defamation proceedings for exposing Nunn’s scamtivities. The video made by Pension Life in response to this reveals three serial scammers, two of which are still free to scam, while the other one: Peter Moat of Fast Pensions (who has had legal proceeding filed against him) is nowhere to be seen.

However, the FCA has done nothing to stop these scammers, nor other well-known ones and no prosecutions have been made. Whilst we are fully in support of educating the masses worldwide to ensure consumers can avoid falling victim to pension scams, this does beg the question:

WHY ARE THE FCA DOING NOTHING ABOUT THE KNOWN SCAMMERS?!?

If the industry was to put a stop to the masterminds, (like Stephen Ward), then surely that would be a giant leap in the right direction for deterring new-comers. As it stands, however, the “award-winning” scammers just seem to set a precedent. If you are good at what you do, your scams can be pushed under the carpet and you can live a life of luxury on the hard-earned cash of the scam victims, escaping punishment.

September 11, 2018
Katar Investment Weapons
Katar Investments say they give UK and overseas investment advice in a simple way. However, the types of investment opportunities they are offering are, unfortunately, once again, making my red beacon flash. So, with Déjà vu, let me tell you why. Please make sure you are comfy, this might take a while!

Firstly, I had a quick look into their team. In my opinion, you would hope that some of the people advertising about giving you advice on investments would hold some sort of financial qualification. However, out of the five team members listed only one mentions a background in finance, the others only list sales experience.

I had a quick check on the registers to see if the one team member who states she has 10 years´ experience in the financial sector, holds any qualifications with the CII, CISI etc. – she did not appear to have any registered financial qualifications.

Now, forgive me if I am slightly biased and ever so critical when it comes to firms giving investment advice, but I would hope that any firm giving me advice on what to invest in, would have a team of fully qualified financial advisers. Not just sales experts. Or am I just being fussy?

Katar Investments state:

“Whether you are looking for a steady income investment, a property investment with high capital growth and a quick turn around of your capital or an opportunity in the latest emerging market, we have something to offer you.

We are highly committed to our investors and are focussed (their spelling mistake – not mine) on delivering a level of customer service which is above and beyond. So rest assured our agents will strive to provide you a class A service when you Invest with Katar Investments.”

I feel that the salespeople who work for Katar Investments may well be driven solely by earning high commissions when it comes to offering class A services. But, again, maybe I am biased! Let’s move on to what investments they offer.

Gatwick – Apart Hotel – This is a serviced apartment/Hotel investment with a minimum investment of 72,500 GBP. The figure states “from”, so I assume you can throw a bit more in for good measure. The promised outcomes:
- 12 Months rental paid in advance
- Rental protected by Insurance
- 5 Years Rental 8%
- 2% profit paid on exchange deposit during refurbishment
- 7 days free stay subject to 1 months notice
- Buy back at 110% after 10 years
- 40% Finance on units over £140,000
- Luxury furniture pack included with every purchase
- Completion date: March 2019
This is a fixed term investment of 10 years and it has not been built yet (check the completion date). To me, an investment like this would ring alarm bells, as you are purchasing property that has yet to be completed. All sorts of hiccups could occur before the investment was up and running. An illiquid, high-risk investment, only for those who can afford a potential loss on the funds used.

Office investment in the Kingdon of Fife – Another illiquid and fixed-term investment, although slightly lower in price than the Gatwick offer.
- Structured exit plan at 10 and 15 years
This means your money is trapped for an awfully long time. If the market sways, you could be set for a loss and often with fixed-term structured investments there are fees and charges. Investments like this can, if they go wrong, result in you, the investor, falling into negative equity.

Property investments like these, ring similar to that of the Dolphin Trust´s German property investments – high-risk, unregulated, non-standard “assets”. An awful lot of pension money has been loaned to this company – many DB pensions earned by British Steelworkers were invested here. Introducers saw commissions of up to 25% and in the case of British Steelworkers, Celtic Wealth – who are now in liquidation- were the introducers. The victims do not know where their pension funds are or if they will get any return. Dolphin Trust are still selling their assets, despite the lack of funds being released to mature investors.

EIS marijuana opportunity – Grow Biotec, there is a lot of press going around at the moment into the medical uses of marijuana and possibilities of a change in legislation in the UK. In many states of America, the use of marijuana for medical use has been decriminalized. As an avid supporter of natural remedies and healing through nature, the use of CBD extracted from the marijuana plant interests me immensely, the idea of investing in this potentially lifesaving product does have a certain draw.

But, there is always a but! Since working for Pension Life, any investment opportunity that quotes the word ´bio´ gives me the heebie-jeebies. We have only to look back and remember the Elysian Bio Fuels liberation scam promoted by James Hay. The victims of this scam have been left penniless AND with huge tax bills from HMRC.

Another ´bio´investment disaster was Sustainable Agroenergy (SAE) Plc, investors were told their investments were in biofuel products, that land was owned in Cambodia and planted with Jatropha trees – a tree with highly toxic fruit that could be used to produce biofuel. Unfortunately, the Jatropa trees were not as fruitful as originally thought. The perpetrators, were thankfully convicted of fraud and bribery offenses.

The reasons I doubt this as a good investment are the vague promises and the over promises.

´It is a private offer raising £5 million to develop one of the world’s most valuable portfolios of cannabis-IP assets by 2022.´

What will be the outcome should this £5 million not be made? A possibility of loss of all or part of your investment.

´We are seeking to develop one of the world’s most valuable portfolios of cannabis-IP assets by 2022.´

Meaning this is a fixed-term investment, with potentially no return for at least 4 years, if not longer, AND only if successful.
- Projected high returns: Target return of £50 per £1 invested (not guaranteed)
- EIS Tax relief: up to 50% income tax and capital gains tax relief. Remember tax rules can change and benefits depend on circumstances.
If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is. Plus this figure is not guaranteed and seems to me like it was just plucked out of the sky, nice and high, to lure investors in.

Airport Parking Investments,

These investments are what we in the industry call illiquid. Once your money is in, then it´s pretty hard to get it out quick AND unless the venture does well there will be no return. With regards to pension investments, these are the very worst, toxic assets to invest in.

Unfortunately, they are often the assets which pay handsome investment introduction commissions to the salesperson, and this is why serial scammers, like Ward, love them. They go in with the ´eco-bio´ sale pitch or the glamorous property ownership – withholding the high-risk, fixed-term rules surrounding the investment.

A pension fund is a retail investment that should be placed in a low to medium-risk asset. Fixed terms, high-risk and illiquid investments should be avoided at all costs.

The types of investments offered by Katar Investments are high-risk and illiquid, if you have a spare five grand that you can afford to lose, then go for it: have a cheeky punt on Bio Grow. You may be pleasantly surprised and get the target return of £50 per £1 invested (just remember to duck smartly when those pink things with curly tails fly a bit too close!). However, if your money is dear to you and you cannot afford to lose it, please stay away from shiny pink and green investments like this.

When it comes to your precious pension fund it is always best to air on the side of caution and go for the safe bet. It might not pay the highest interest, however, slow and steady wins the race. Meaning you will be able to enjoy your hard earned pennies in your retirement – stress free.

John Rodgers wishes he had said no to the offers of Continental Wealth Management.
September 11, 2018
Callaghan QROPS Spain – qualified and registered?

If you have been following Pension Life´s blogs, you will know that we have been conducting a series of investigations into qualified and registered financial advisers in various firms. Today is the turn of Callaghan QROPS Spain – qualified and registered?

IFAs and their clients are invited to add to it, correct it, improve it. Here’s a link to the three registers if you want to double check:

http://www.cii.co.uk/web/app/membersearch/MemberSearch.aspx

https://www.cisi.org/cisiweb2/cisi-website/join-us/cisi-member-directory

https://www.libf.ac.uk/members-and-alumni/sps-and-cpd-register – Claim to a DipFA

Please note that this data is correct as at today, 11/07/2018

**********

What Callaghan QROPS Spain say about themselves:

“Located in Cabo Roig, Alicante, GC QROPS has a long history of assisting UK Expats with their pension transfers. Our pensions advisors are all UK Qualified and Registered IFAs and give up-to-date informed evaluations with a no obligation policy running throughout the company.

Graeme Callaghan Pension Services has been successfully assisting UK expats in Spain with UK pension transfers for 9 years since 2006. We have assisted in over 500 successful UK pension transfers for UK Pensioners.”

Callaghan QROPS Spain claim they have been advising UK expats on their pension transfers for nine years – with this claim, let’s hope Callaghan QROPS Spain has advisers which are qualified and registered? Can this firm score a better percentage than some of the other companies of the past weeks?

Callaghan QROPS Spain – advisers qualified and registered?

Upon clicking on the ´Our Advisers´ tab on Graeme Callaghan´s website, I was presented with this statement:

´All our advisers are U.K qualified. We offer a free no obligation assessment on all your existing plans. Including your U.K pensions, your existing QROPS and ISA’s.

In some circumstances our advisers will travel to your country of residence. We can also arrange for your travelling requirements to one of our offices in Spain.´

With no links to any real person to represent this Callaghan QROPS Spain firm, it is very hard to make a judgement on who you are entrusting you valuable pension fund to. Callaghan QROPS Spain do little to give a true representation of their firm with no transparency about their staff or their qualifications – I was unable to even find a picture of Graeme Callaghan himself. They do however mention that they are looking for UK qualified financial advisers.

What I did find was a host of testimonials from Hollywood movie stars and professional sports persons etc etc assuring me that Callaghan QROPS Spain had supplied, ´Top Service´, and were ´Highly recommended´.

What I find hard to grasp is that Callaghan QROPS Spain managed to go to all the effort of giving a long list of testimonials, but were unable to take the time to put anyone in their ´Our Advisers´ tab. Surely a reputable financial advisory company would be proud to show their qualified and registered IFAs who give ´top service´ to pension holders?

As shown in the image above there were lots of links to social media, so I chose to follow the Facebook one first. Here I was able to find an image of Graeme Callaghan of Callaghan QROPS Spain (and I also found out they were Callaghan QROPS Portugal too).

On his facebook page dated 06/07/2018 he states: ´Find us ranked on page one by Google with an ”Evergreen QROPS” search. We are assisting multiple members of this scheme with transfering to a scheme recognised on the HMRC website. Contact us for a free no obligation assessment on your existing QROPS or UK pension´.

Those of you who are familiar with the CWM pension scam debacle and the Evergreen QROPS liberation scheme will know that this pension scam was hustled by unregulated and unqualified advisers and resulted in members losing massive percentages of their pension funds when CWM collapsed. Furthermore, the victims of this scam face large tax bills from HMRC after they received Stephen Ward’s Marazion “loans” on their pension transfers.

How the Evergreen QROPS and Marazion Loans pension scam worked.

Graeme Callaghan is also using the threat of Brexit as a compelling reason for expats to move their pension fund into a QROPS. It is questionable whether Brexit will have any effect at all on expats’ pensions and many firms are using this as a “scare tactic” to get people to transfer into a QROPS – often entirely unnecessarily.

As I have no other staff to go on for Callaghan QROPS Spain, I am going to check the registers for Graeme Callaghan himself. Interestingly on his Facebook profile he states he studied at City University London, but he fails to mention what subject he studied there.

Graham Callaghan – Director? Sole financial adviser? Position unclear – however he seems to be the owner of Callaghan QROPS Spain – IS NOT LISTED ON ANY OF THE REGISTERS FOR FINANCIAL ADVISERS.

Callaghan QROPS Spain – qualified and registered? 0/1 – 0%

EDIT: a search through Linkedin of Callaghan QROPS Spain revealed that there is in fact another employee, Dylan Callaghan. Listed job role of UK Pension Adviser at Graeme Callaghan Pension Services, he too went to went to University of London where he apparently studied for an MBA.

Despite stating that he is a UK pension adviser for the company, he lists no financial qualifications and does not appear on any of the three registers. Therefore, Callaghan QROPS Spain – qualified and registered? 0/2 employees 0%.

Other claims by Callaghan QROPS Spain: Callaghan Financial Services can advise on the whole of the QROPS market and we are not tied to one jurisdiction. Really? And how do you manage that? You are an unregulated company, with zero qualifications.

“We believe part of our success is due to offering a free no obligation assessment on all your existing plans.” Here at Pension Life we are always supicious of the word ´free´.

If I was looking to swap my pension plan I would steer clear of Callaghan QROPS Spain.

Unqualified, unregistered, unregulated and non-transparent – this company is no place for your pension fund – even if Eric Roberts (Hollywood Actor) states they are an excellent company!

CWM Pension scam – A victim’s reconstruction

July 11, 2018
High Court Winds up Fast Pensions
Yesterday, Wednesday 30th May, in the High Court, the petition to wind up Fast Pensions and the associated companies and occupational pension schemes, was heard. The order was made that the companies and schemes should be wound up.

I would like to thank Michael Gibbon, the son of one of the Fast Pensions members, for attending the hearing and representing Pension Life and the 400 victims. Michael has been enormously supportive of our work behind the scenes – although this has clearly been hindered by the obfuscation of the Moats.

Michael has kindly summarised the details of the proceedings – and I have added some further information and thoughts.

I will now be asking all the Fast Pensions members to provide their documentation to my Assistant who will be collating as much evidence as possible for the Insolvency Service, insolvency practitioner and/or independent trustees.

The six companies originally placed into provisional liquidation by the Insolvency Service on 29th March 2018 were:
- Fast Pensions Ltd – company registration number 08121954 – was incorporated on 28 June 2012. The company’s registered office is at Crown House, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX
- FP Scheme Trustees Ltd – company registration number 09126225 – was incorporated on 11 July 2014. The company’s registered office is at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU
- Blu Debt Management Ltd – company registration number 06699233 – was incorporated on 16 September 2008. The company’s registered office is at Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington WA2 7JQ
- Blu Financial Services Ltd – company registration number 05912973 – was incorporated on 22 August 2006. The company’s registered office is at Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington WA2 7JQ
- Blu Personal Finance Ltd – company registration number 07758290 – was incorporated on 31 August 2011. The company’s registered office is at Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington WA2 7JQ
- Umbrella Loans Ltd – company registration number 07331044 – was incorporated on 30 July 2010. The company’s registered office is at Gilbert Wakefield House, 67 Bewsey Street, Warrington WA2 7JQ
The fifteen occupational schemes run by Peter and Sara Moat were:

Broughton Retirement Plan
DM1 Retirement Plan
Elphinstone Retirement Plan
EP1 Retirement Plan
Fleming Retirement Plan
FP1 Retirement Plan
FP2 Retirement Plan
FP3 Retirement Plan
Galileo Retirement Plan
Golden Arrow Retirement Plan
Leafield Retirement Plan
Springdale Retirement Plan
Talisman Retirement Plan
Templar Retirement Plan
VRSEB Retirement Plan

Despite the Moats being caught up in six companies and 15 occupational schemes no one was present to represent any of the named companies or schemes.

Peter and Sara Moat are not the only people connected in this pension liberation scam.

A connected party to the companies was Miss Jane Wright who is a former employee of Peter Moat. Mrs Sara Moat/Mr Peter Moat and Miss Jane Wright had an unhealthy connection as they were all in a net of other associated companies. A Mr Chapman – who did apply for administration before the last hearing but this was rejected – is also said to have been instructed by Peter Moat.

The Moats various companies were operating pension liberation schemes in the form of loans. The victims of these liberation schemes were later met with tax demands by HMRC as they payments they received were deemed as unauthorised payments.

When selling the schemes the Moats used unacceptable sales techniques – cold calling, mis-selling and with-holding important information were among these. Furthermore an upfront fee of £1,000 was taken from each investor at the start of the investment of the funds – and this was undisclosed to the members as well.

A total of £21m was transferred into the schemes under

Peter Moat’s control however there was no information on the pension portfolios and what happened to the investors’ funds. The victims have had no updates on the funds, commissions or fee´s. Miss Jane Wright (who acted as the “trustee”) would always state she would seek and come back when questioned by the members about their funds.

Furthermore it is now clear that Peter Moat was acting as a de facto director in breach of his disqualification while acting for Blu Finance Group.

AND

Mr Henderson – accountant to ALL the schemes was also a disqualified director.

In attendance for the Insolvency Service were Mary Greenwell, and colleague, Tim Ward, Provisional liquidator. With the following points being raised:

* There was a Lack of information and cooperation with the Insolvency Service investigation

* Failure to respond to determinations by the Pensions Ombudsman and/ no evidence of compensation paid to members

* No professional advisers were involved

* Commission on the investments were not disclosed – no transparency to the investors was given

* On reporting on schemes, there was simply one page per scheme which was very concerning

* Evidence of the lack of proper transfer requests

* The six selling points used to sell the schemes proved to be false

* Very unclear on the advice provided to investors

* No commercial prosperity

* No information re bank balances

* Lack of transparency to ALL involved – members/Insolvency Service/Pensions Ombudsman/Pension Life

* The skeleton argument showed a flowchart which demonstrated the net of the Moats

See how fast your pension can disappear?

All the companies involved in this scam were controlled by Peter Moat ( acting under disqualification) and using other people. The whereabouts of the funds presently is unclear – funds were transferred to and through other companies controlled by Peter Moat. Some of it was invested in Umbrella Loans which was insolvent. Some of it was transferred to the Blu companies.

All the funds will need to be traced as it is unclear what monies are outstanding, however with very limited information provided by the companies this may prove to be difficult. It is thought that a huge amount of funds will be practically impossible to track or find. Then there is the £4m paid in commission which obviously came from investors’ funds and is therefore no longer attainable.

What can be ascertained is the clear evidence of mis-selling and based on the evidence, it was in the public interest to wind the companies and schemes up as it was a very clear case that these people could not be allowed to continue

With all this evidence there was no doubt that the order should be made that the companies and schemes should be wound up.

What is a Pension Scam?
May 31, 2018
Protecting your pension fund from pension vampires

Protect your pension fund at all costs. Pension “vampires” disguised as friendly and legitimate pension advisers are still out there – prowling the land trying to find victims. Ever evolving and changing their strategies to seduce you into transferring your pension fund, often into a high-risk, toxic investment that rewards them with high commission but leaves your pension fund and your health frazzled.

Pension vampires are very good at wearing disguises AND their credible eloquence and charming manner are sure to get your attention. This is why here at Pension Life we want to raise public awareness to discourage individuals from being drawn in by the vampires’ compelling sales techniques. We want victims to learn how to protect your pension fund.

Con artists and pension scammers love to cold call and give the impression they are official government representatives or fully qualified and regulated advisers. They are very clever at worming their way into victims’ homes and setting these vulnerable people up to get scammed out of their pensions.

THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN

If you are cold called – please just hang up.

Much like a vampire, once you have invited them into your life, it is very difficult to get rid of them. They will trick you into transferring you pension fund into their care – often with promises of high returns and low risk. In reality, they will bleed you dry.

What these pension vampires leave out of their convincing sales pitch is the high commission charges they will add every time they put your fund into a new or different investment. Often the commission charges heavily outweigh the interest that will be applied to the investment should it be successful.

Pension vampires hunt in packs and the first one you meet will NOT be the last. Often the first pension vampire will introduce you to several others. Each one will want to have a suck on your fund. This type of pension scam is called fractional scamming its happening more and more. Please have a look at our previous blog on fractional scammers for more information on how this type of scam works.

Pension vampires not only use cold calling techniques, they also send emails and use the postal system. The content is usually the same – they offer you a free pension review.

Nothing in life comes for free – the review may seem to be free but what comes after will be devastating to your pension fund and your health.

Pete and Val fell victim to pension vampires using a pension liberation scam – here’s the tragic story of how their pension fund was left decimated by a firm of unlicensed so-called advisers: Continental Wealth Management.

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(more…)

May 2, 2018
Pension liberation scammers of Successful Pensions JAILED

Two pension liberation scammers have been sentenced to time behind bars AND a recovery of funds after creating an elaborate pension liberation scam, involving around 23 victims and nearly 1 million pounds of pension funds. Successful Pensions sure was unsuccessful for all involved.

Anthony Locke, 33, from Christchurch in the UK, was sentenced to a five-year jail term, after being found guilty of 23 counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of money laundering.

Ray King, 54, who was employed by Lock, was also found guilty at the trial of 14 counts of fraud by false representation and given a three-year jail sentence.

FT Adviser reported:

“According to investigating officer Paul Sullivan, of Dorset Police, between September 2013 and April 2014 Mr Locke obtained almost £1m from various pension companies, which represented the ‘pension pots’ of the victims in this case”.

A timetable was set out for Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings in relation to the recovery of funds from the defendants.

Successful Pensions, Lock’s company, allegedly created an ‘elaborate façade’ comprising of hundreds of documents to convince genuine companies, including Friends Life and Virgin Money, that they were operating a genuine occupational pension scheme.

Successful Pensions, set up a website to attract people who were interested in pension liberation. The victims were given a 50% cash payout on their funds’ total worth, with the other half to be re-invested – reportedly in eco-friendly investment schemes.

Unfortunately, there were no investments. Rather than cream large commissions by reinvesting the funds into high-risk toxic assets (which most scammers do), they instead laundered the money into offshore accounts including Lock’s Mum’s account and his ex-partner’s!

The scammers then went on to live the life of Riley with the victims’ money. They treated themselves to an Aston Martin Vantage, Porsche 911 and Mercedes B180, along with lots of other luxury items and nice holidays.

Paul Sullivan also stated:

“Not only have the victims lost half their pensions but now may face financial penalties from HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) who will want to recover the lost tax (on the pension liberation).

The sentences imposed send out a clear message to fraudsters who perpetrate these types of offences.”

This is indeed positive news. But the message it sends out isn’t good enough. These fraudsters were clearly not very bright and made no attempt at smoke and mirrors. They scammed 23 people out of nearly £1 million. What about those in other schemes that scammed hundreds and sometimes even thousands of victims out of many £ millions? And did so repeatedly.

To my mind, the message sent out is that only the stupid scammers who don’t aim high get caught and punished. The more clever and cunning ones get away unscathed time and time again. And are left free and unfettered to enjoy their expensive lifestyles at the expense of their victims.

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As always, Pension Life would like to remind you that if you are planning to transfer any pension funds, make sure that you are transferring into a legitimate scheme, get all the information in writing and get a third party to check the details.

If you have been the victim of a scam hear how Pension Life member Jessica M.J. who lost two thirds of her pension to Continental Wealth Management, talks about dealing with stress.

May 1, 2018
OMI complaint
COMPLAINT TO OMI, THE ISLE OF MAN FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY, THE CENTRAL BANK OF IRELAND, FINANCIAL SERVICES AND PENSIONS OMBUDSMAN AND THE ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL LIFE OFFICES

ATTENTION:

Martin Middleton, CEO

Michael Hampson
Complaints Handler | Complaints Team | Old Mutual International

T: 44 (0) 1624 655451 | Int Ext: 75451
F: 44 (0) 1624 611715
E: omifmcomplaints@ominternational.com | W: www.oldmutualinternational.com

Isle of Man Financial Services Authority
PO Box 58
Finch Hill House
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM99 1DT

info@iomfsa.im

GeneralMailbox.ATG@gov.im

Central Bank of Ireland:

enquiries@centralbank.ie

Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman

Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, D02 VH29. Tel: (01) 567 7000 Email: info@fspo.ie Website: www.fspo.ie

AILO – Association of International Life Offices

secretariat@ailo.org

COMPLAINT REGARDING OMI’S NEGLIGENCE, FAILED GOVERNANCE AND FACILITATION OF FINANCIAL CRIME – European Executive Investment Bond (EEIB)

OMI has facilitated financial crime over a period of many years; stood by while innocent victims’ retirement savings were destroyed; paid huge commissions to an unlicensed (and illegal in Spain) firm of scammers; continued charging crippling fees while victims’ funds dwindled away; extorted early exit penalties from victims unfairly and unreasonably; failed to take any action to stem the torrent of huge losses of millions of pounds’ worth of retirement savings for many years. And now it is failing to uphold the victims’ complaints.

OMI has been in receipt of a number of complaints (and will be in receipt of numerous further ones) regarding their negligence and facilitation of financial crime in offshore financial services. OMI has not upheld these complaints – and indeed has neglected to grasp the extent of their own multiple failings and errors.

The existing complaints do relate to serious regulatory breaches and fraud – as well as failing to adhere to OMI’s own terms and conditions. Much of the fraud was caused by the financial advisory firm: Continental Wealth Trust (which traded as Continental Wealth Management). However, the firm’s fraud was only successful because OMI facilitated it.

The complaints submitted to date include:
- That investments were made into high-risk professional-investor-only funds. Many of these failed and caused huge losses to victims’ funds.
- That OMI paid commissions/fees to CWM who not only held no investment licence – but also held no license of any kind.
- As a result of the huge, un-disclosed commission paid to CWM – an unlicensed firm – OMI imposes crippling early surrender charges on the victims.
OMI has responded that they are “very sympathetic to victims’ concerns” and has responded that it appreciates what a very worrying time this must be for those who have lost such huge amounts of their life savings.

OMI has also stated that the roles and responsibilities of all the parties involved with this fraud have got to be clarified. However, OMI claims – entirely disingenuously – it does not want victims to get the feeling it is trying to distance itself from the grievances.

In order to address what it refers to as “concerns”, OMI has attempted to “explain” matters. The use of the word “concerns” is obviously a really crass clanger on the part of OMI, since the victims are absolutely not just CONCERNED – they are furious, terrified and devastated at their dreadful losses. Some victims are suicidal, and many have had their health seriously compromised.

OMI has described the EEIB as being held by the trustee for the benefit of a member of their pension scheme, enabling policyholders to hold a “wide range of investments in one tax-efficient product wrapper”. OMI goes on to claim that policyholders and their investment advisers “have complete flexibility over the investments they place inside the EEIB”.

Some or all of the above may be true. However, that does not make it right that OMI has allowed unlicensed advisers to place clearly unsuitable investments inside their wrappers. Further, it does not make it right that OMI then stood by and watched the investments fail for many years AND DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING EXCEPT KEEP ON TAKING FEES BASED ON THE ORIGINAL VALUE – AND NOT THE REDUCED VALUE OF THE FUND.

OMI claims that it reviews all investments to ensure they meet Irish regulatory requirements, and their own administration requirements.

If this is indeed true, it is a very serious indictment of the Irish regulator if their requirements are so appallingly lax. What OMI seems to be claiming is that both the Central Bank of Ireland and OMI have such low standards that they will allow low-risk pension savers to have their retirement funds invested purely in high-risk, professional-investor-only structured notes. If this is true, then the regulator is as bad as OMI in condoning an investment strategy which has no regard for suitability, liquidity, diversity and risk tolerance.

In fact, the Central Bank of Ireland has stated that it carried out a review of suitability requirements in 2017 and found that: “governance structures for the identification and treatment of vulnerable clients were absent or ineffective”. The CWM victims were about as vulnerable as it was possible to get – as their retirement savings were systematically and inexorably destroyed. And OMI’s governance structure was about as absent and ineffective as it is possible to get while it stood by and didn’t even bother to raise a red flag on the whole disaster as it unfolded.

There was no jangling of alarm bells as OMI watched millions of pounds wiped out. There was no expression of concern that the same toxic structured notes which had failed in earlier years were bought again and again by the same unlicensed scammers. There was no governance to protect new vulnerable victims from having their funds destroyed from 2015 onwards in the same way hundreds of victims had suffered in previous years.

OMI has claimed that customers/their appointed advisers are responsible for the suitability assessment and selection of the investments held in the policy – and that “it is important that customers read the prospectus/offering documents of investments carefully, before making any investment decisions”. However, OMI watched wholesale destruction taking place inside its own wrappers and took no action. Had OMI asked a few simple questions they would have found the following:
1. The victims were being advised by a known firm of scammers which had been involved in cold calling in the Evergreen pension liberation scam in 2012
2. The victims were being advised by a firm which was not licensed at all – for anything
3. The victims had ALL insisted they wanted either low risk or no risk investments as they could not afford to lose any part of their retirement savings
4. The victims had no idea their retirement savings were being invested in high-risk, professional-investor-only structured notes
5. The victims’ signatures were repeatedly forged on the dealing instructions
6. The victims were duped into a false sense of security when losses started to be reported on their statements by the scammers claiming these were not genuine losses but only “paper losses”
7. The victims had no idea how high the charges and commissions were as these were not disclosed either by the scammers or by OMI
8. The victims were not consulted as to whether they wanted or needed an entirely useless and exorbitantly expensive insurance bond
9. The victims were unaware that tied agents are illegal in Spain
10. The victims were unaware of the huge fees and commissions which were concealed by both the scammers and OMI
OMI claims that term 12 of the EEIB policy terms states that it is the policyholder who bears the risk of investment. But then OMI goes on to assert that the policyholder was the trustee who would be classed as a professional investor.

So OMI has got to make up its mind – it has already stated that: “customers/their appointed advisers are responsible for the suitability assessment and selection of the investments held in the policy”. So who is the customer? The victim or the trustee? And whom did the adviser advise – the customer or the trustee? Or OMI?

OMI goes on to refer to term 11.4 of the policy which confirms that it may allow investment into professional or experienced investor funds because it owns the investments held within the EEIB, rather than the policyholder.

So, who gave the advice and to whom? OMI can’t seem to make up its mind who the customer is: the victim; the trustee or OMI itself. If OMI is the customer, why is it charging the victim fees?

OMI goes on to quote policy term 11.4.1 – which apparently clearly highlights that professional-investor-only funds carry a high degree of risk. So who is taking the risk? The victim, the trustee or OMI?

Let us ask ourselves, where did the original funds come from? Not the trustee; not OMI; but the victim.

OMI then procedes to claim that it will “only accept applications via regulated financial advisers”. But Inter-Alliance was not licensed to provide investment advice – or indeed insurance advice. CWM was not licensed either. So why did OMI accept applications from unlicensed advisors (who were also known scammers)? Also, OMI failed to identify that tied (insurance) agents are illegal in Spain – so it shouldn’t have been dealing with them at all – let alone paying them huge commissions.

OMI states that CWM was a member of Inter-Alliance WorldNet, and obtained their authorization to act via that membership. But this is not true – Inter-Alliance was not licensed and therefore neither was CWM. The application form may, in some cases, have confirmed the appointment of CWM as investment adviser with full discretion – but why didn’t OMI check that CWM was licensed? In fact, most of the victims were under the impression that they would be consulted on the investments and that their risk tolerance would be respected – but this never happened in any of the cases.

OMI goes on to claim that CWM was able to submit investment instructions directly to OMI, without consulting the trustees. But that isn’t true either: dealing instructions were sent to the trustees first, and then the trustees sent on new instructions. How can OMI not even know how its own internal systems work?

OMI concludes that it is sorry the complaining investor is “disappointed with the performance of some of the investments selected by CWM” and then goes on to claim the investments “met the criteria for a permitted asset under the EEIB policy terms”.

So who at OMI was responsible for writing and updating EEIB policy terms? Did this person not notice the losses repeatedly decimating the funds? Did this person not see the same investment failures repeating in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017? Did this person not question whether the policy terms ought to be revised somewhat? The answer to these questions is, inevitably, a resounding and disgraceful “NO”.

OMI is now refusing to refund or waive early withdrawal charges on the basis that CWM was an appointed investment adviser. This is because OMI initially paid a big chunk of commission to CWM – an unlicensed adviser and known scammer. If a victim wants to get out of the toxic, pointless insurance wrapper, in order to put a stop to the exorbitant fees taken quarterly out of the fund – and based on the original value rather than the decimated value of the fund – he basically has to refund the commission OMI paid to the scammers.

The victims remain dissatisfied with OMI’s response, and the complaint is now being referred to the Irish Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. OMI has deliberately misunderstood and overlooked every aspect of the victims’ complaints and failed to address even the most basic issues surrounding OMI’s failures and negligence.

OMI has facilitated financial crime over a period of many years; stood by while innocent victims’ retirement savings were destroyed; paid huge commissions to an unlicensed (and illegal in Spain) firm of scammers; continued charging crippling fees while victims’ funds dwindled away; extorted early exit penalties from victims unfairly and unreasonably; failed to take any action to stem the torrent of huge losses of millions of pounds’ worth of retirement savings for many years. And now it is failing to uphold the victims’ complaints.
February 22, 2018
Top 10 Deadliest Pension Scammers

Pension scammers are hidden all around us, often dressed in smart clothes, driving smart cars and carrying impressive leather folders. They offer what seems like smart investments, push through your pension fund transfer swiftly and seamlessly. However what you don´t see on the surface is their hidden parasitic ways. These scammers will drain the funds from your pension, investing in high-risk, toxic investments, that only they will profit from.

Here´s Pension Life´s, “Top 10 Pension Scammers”. (Please note: this information is correct as of the today´s date only, as pension scammers are evolving daily and as one falls another will rise!)

10 – Square Mile International

John (Gus) Ferguson’s firm Square Mile International promote unregulated toxic crap to pension savers and employs unqualified David Vilka. The so-called “advisers” promoted the Blackmore Global Fund.

It is still unclear what has actually happened to the money invested into the Blackmore Global Fund.

9 – James Lau & Tudor Capital Management

James Lau was a financial adviser with Wightman, Fletcher McCabe (FSA regulated) – part of the Clarkson Hill Group. Along with directors Peter Bradley and Andrew Meeson, of Tudor Capital Management (subsequently jailed for eight years for money laundering and tax fraud), James Lau conned 116 victims into transferring their pensions, investing in forex trading companies, and liberating up to 85% of their pensions. Lau is now rumoured to be in hiding in Hong Kong. The victims are now facing 55% tax charges by HMRC.

8 – Friendly Pensions

David Austen of Friendly Pensions, used cold-calling and high-pressure sales tactics to strong-arm 245 victims into investing in 11 fake schemes, including a truffle farm.

Dalton, Barratt and Hanson all served as trustees on the fake schemes set up by Austin – who is described as the mastermind – and were paid more than £550,000 between them. The four scammers who conned pension savers out of £13.7 million have now been banned from the industry but not imprisoned. The victims, however, lost everything.

7 – Continental Wealth Management (CWM)

One thousand people were relieved of up to £100 million worth of pension funds. Conned by a motley assortment of snake oil salesmen, the victims were promised high returns, but all they got was high losses. Old Mutual International (OMI) were the provider for the bulk of the insurance bonds in this scam. Funds were invested in risky, toxic structured notes which were clearly labelled as “for professional investors only”. Clients were lied to, as when they saw the value of their funds plunging dramatically, the Continental Wealth Management scammers assured the victims that the reported losses were “only paper losses”. Continental Wealth Management collapsed in September 2017.

6 -XXXX XXXX

XXXX XXXX was the “distributor” of the Capita Oak, Henley, Westminster and various SIPPS scams in 2012/13. He was also operating pension liberation fraud with his “loan” company: Thurlstone. When these schemes collapsed in 2013, he went on to launch an investment scam called Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund. Capita Oak, Henley, Westminster and Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund are now all under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. XXXX XXXX has been arrested and his offices searched.

5 – Nunn and McCreesh

Phillip Nunn – along with his sidekick and partner in crime Patrick McCreesh – provided “lead generation” services to the Capita Oak and Henley scams. At up to 200 leads a month for more than two years, he was responsible for the destruction of £ millions of pension funds – and got paid nearly £1 million in fees for doing so. He then went on to set up an investment scam called Blackmore Global – a UCIS which is illegal to be promoted to retail pension savers. It is not known whether the investors have lost some, most or all of the funds in Blackmore Global as Phillip Nunn refuses to have an independent audit carried out on the fund.

4 – Steve Pimlott – Windsor Pensions

Steve Pimlott has been running Windsor Pensions for at least seven years. He claims to have done around 5,000 pension liberations and assures victims that HMRC will be “unlikely” to catch up with them. Pimlott uses QROPS schemes such as Danica in Sweden and then sets up a fraudulent bank account in the Isle of Man. The transfer never goes anywhere near Danica, of course. But the transfer is sent to the IoM bank account – 85% is paid out to the victim and Pimlott trousers the other 15%. HMRC is now taxing the victims at 55% – although they have never taken action against Pimlott who is still operating happily in Florida (not far from where Stephen Ward has his six luxury villas).

3 – Fast Pensions

Peter Moat and his wife Sara Moat were chums of Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions. They ran a loan company called Blu Debt Management and also had several other businesses involving estate agency and pension administration. Hundreds of victims were transferred into the Moats’ Fast Pension schemes, and now the victims cannot access their pensions or transfer out. Peter and Sara Moat live in the Javea area of the Spanish Costa Blanca and have had 18 Pensions Ombudsman’s determinations against them for mal-administration of the pension schemes they are running. It is thought that around 400 victims are affected, although it is not known how much they have lost between them. It is known that several years ago, a substantial amount of the funds were loaned to Bridgebank Capital and then used as bridging loans for property developers. But the money has since been repaid and goodness only knows where it is now. Certainly not accessible to the members.

2 – Stephen Ward

Ark: 486 victims; £27 million at risk; 55% tax penalties on 50% loans

Evergreen: 300 victims; £10 million at risk

Capita Oak: 300 victims; £10 million at risk; tax penalties on XXXX XXXX’s Thurlstone “loans”

Westminster: 200 victims; £7 million at risk; tax penalties on “loans”

Southlands, Headforte, Feldspar, Hammerley, Maribel, Dorrixo Alliance, Halkin, Bollington Wood, Randwick Estates, Elysian Fuels, London Quantum – and many more. Stephen Ward remains active with DB transfers.

and in first position we have …..

1 – HMRC

Yes, you read correctly, HMRC is our number-one culprit in the Top 10 pension scammers list. And here’s why:

Since at least 2010, pension scams have been on the rise. That’s 8 years, yet regulations have not been changed, HMRC has not become vigilant or conscientious about registering pension scams, and new laws have not been put in place to stop scammers.

In fact, the scams are registered in the first place by HMRC, and in the case of occupational schemes also by tPR.

No notice is taken of whether the schemes are registered by known scammers and no questions are asked as to the purpose of the schemes.

In the case of James Lau’s Salmon Enterprises, the trustees – Meeson and Bradley – had been investigated by HMRC and arrested in March 2010 on suspicion of money laundering and tax fraud. However, HMRC did nothing to warn ceding providers or the public and Salmon Enterprises was left as an HMRC-registered, fully-operational occupational scheme.

Later that year, one ceding provider queried the legitimacy of the Salmon Enterprises scheme, but HMRC refused to elaborate on why the trustees had been arrested. A transfer went ahead – along with 115 others – while HMRC sat back in the full knowledge that all these victims would be bound to face unauthorised payment tax charges.

In the Ark case, HMRC spoke to the organisers and promoters (including Stephen Ward) of the six Ark schemes on several occasions. They then had a meeting with Craig Tweedley and Ward in February 2011 to discuss their concerns that the 50% “loans” paid out to scheme members constituted unauthorised payments. At this point there was a “mere” £7 million worth of transfers. Nothing was done to suspend the Ark schemes for another three months – during which time a further £20 million was transferred in. HMRC is now trying to tax both the members and the scheme for unauthorised payments.

In the full knowledge that Stephen Ward was behind Ark and numerous other scams, HMRC ignored evidence of his pension trustee/administrator firm – Dorrixo Alliance. In May 2014, they discussed prosecuting Ward, but did nothing about the London Quantum pension scam, and in August of the same year, a police officer lost his police pension to Ward’s scheme.

Therefore, HMRC takes 1st place, due to its downright lack of motivation to help stop the scams, yet speedy tax demands fly out for the unauthorised payments arising from the so-called “loans” operated from the very schemes that HMRC themselves registers.

Furthermore, HMRC taxes the victims of pension liberation scams – and not the perpetrators.

List of 10 deadliest parasites borrowed from listverse website for comparison.

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As always, Pension Life would like to remind you that if you are planning to transfer any pension funds, make sure that you are transferring into a legitimate scheme. To find out how to avoid being scammed, please see our blog:

What is a pension scam?

Follow Pension Life on twitter to keep up with all things pension related, good and bad.

February 18, 2018
James Hay + Elysian Bio fuel = Pension Liberation Scam
James Hay, the first UK SIPPS provider, could face tax charges of up to £20 million from HMRC, related to the Elysian Bio Fuel investment scam (sorry: scheme). Elysian Bio Fuels, which owned a bioethanol plant in the US and a renewable fuels refinery in the UK, was also used by other SIPPS providers such as Suffolk Life.

Money Marketing states : “Sipp investors are facing millions in write downs on a high-risk bio fuel investment, which has also been linked to a suspected pension liberation scam.”

Unsurprisingly, James Hay has launched an appeal against the tax charges AND as of January, has also slipped in a ban on non-standard investments including overseas commercial property, storage pods and carbon credits to be bought through its SIPPS platform.

We say to James Hay, “too little, too late, mate!”

Through SIPPS provided by James Hay, around 500 clients put £55m in to Elysian Bio Fuels. Yes, that´s 500 retail investors, placed into high-risk toxic investments, totally unsuitable for pensions. The business failed in 2015. James Hay claim that they did not advise their members AND limited their role to pension administration. Whilst they may not have directly advised their members, they did, however, allow crooked advisers to buy shares in Elysian Bio Fuels for the purpose of Pension Liberation.

The sheer act of letting crooked advisers advise their trusting members, whilst turning a blind eye to fraud, makes James Hay guilty in anybody´s book. How long can so called legitimate SIPPS providers continue to get away with this sheer negligence of their members´ funds?

Below is an email exchange between Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions, his lawyer Alan Fowler and Angela South of Magna Wealth. This thread describes exactly how the Elysian Bio Fuels/James Hay liberation scam worked.

From: Alan Fowler <fowlerpts@gmail.com>
Date: 17 October 2013 21:28:21 BST
To: William Perkins <billperkins62@gmail.com>
Subject: Fwd: a solution for you !

Interesting….but I’m amazed that reputable SIPP providers will countenance this. Who’s making the loans? I’m not sure I see how the SIPP pays the member (or anyone for that matter) £100k – with what/who’s money? And won’t the SIPP need to verify that the shares in Xco are actually worth £100k. That said, if the IFA is doing these, it seems the process works………..

Regards, Alan

**************************************************************************

From: Stephen Ward <SWard@ppsespana.com>

Subject: Re: a solution for you !

Date: 17 October 2013 20:58:15 BST

To: billperkins <billperkins62@gmail.com>

Cc: Alan Fowler <fowlerpts@gmail.com>

The arrangement I heard about today works like this as an example ( ignoring fees) and this is the simplistic version …
1. Client borrows 16k or thereabouts (this is available in the package)
2. He gets a non recourse loan (which will not be repaid) of £84k
3. He buys shares in Xco for £100k. These are listed on the CISX ( name is Elysium)
4. Transfers £100k to James Hay SIPP
5. SIPP pays member £100k for the shares .,,,
6. Member repays the 16k and trousers £84k
My IFA connection has done 40 of them so far

Advice to transfer to the SIPP is from an FCA regulated IFA

James Hay and Suffolk Life know the full structure and are happy with it ….

Fees ….. On transfer to SIPP ( need to agree the commercials with the IFA)

Regards

Stephen

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From: Stephen Ward [mailto:SWard@ppsespana.com]
Sent: 18 October 2013 10:01
To: Angela (South – Magna Wealth)
Subject: FW: QROPS opportunity
Importance: High

Morning Angela

I was not expecting such a fast green light !

But it seems to me that a green light is what we have

The next step is a test case I guess ….. ? I may have one but just need to check his fund value.

Putting my provider hat on I do not need to understand the details of the back end engineering, the fact its OK with James Hay is good enough for me.

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As always, Pension Life would like to remind you that if you are planning to transfer any pension funds, make sure that you are transferring into a legitimate scheme. To find out how to avoid being scammed, please see our blog:

What is a pension scam?

Follow Pension Life on twitter to keep up with all things pension related, good and bad.
February 14, 2018
What is a Pension Scam?
There are many different types of pension scam – just as there are many types of genuine pension scheme. This can sometimes make it difficult to tell the difference so we are her to help you inform you about, what is a pension scam.

Fortunately, there are some common tell-tale signs that mean you could spot a scam and avoid it:
- Cold calling: always be suspicious of a cold caller. This can come as a text, phone call, email or even a smart-looking individual at your door!
  - Some cold callers may even imply that they are from the government or another government-backed organisation.
  - THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN!
- Hard sell: when your smart-looking/sounding “adviser” won’t take “no” for an answer and pressurises you into an on-the-spot decision
- No land-line contact phone number: the only contact they give consists of an email, mobile or PO Box address
- Use of words like ‘pension liberation’, ‘loan’, ‘loophole’, ‘free pension review’ or ‘one-off investment’
- Unrealistic claims:
  - You can unlock your pension before 55
  - Promises of tax advantages
  - investment is ‘unique’, ‘overseas’, ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘ethical’ or in a ‘new’ industry
- Low risk but high return investments (THEY DON’T EXIST!!)
What the scammers don’t tell you is that taking any part of your pension early (before 55 years of age) DOES result in tax charges. These charges can be up to 55% of the amount you take – even if you were told it was a “loan”.

With HMRC on your back for this tax demand, it will be hard to remember the pleasure of the money you received. Plus, whilst you are distracted with your tax demand from HMRC, it is likely that the rest of your pension fund is taking a nasty tumble.

Pension scams can involve various types of pension arrangements from QROPS and QNUPS to occupational schemes and SIPPS. These arrangements are not, in their own right, bad. However, if they are used for unsuitable investments, they most certainly can be. Know about these investments means you will know about what is a pension scam.

The investments inside the schemes can range from high-risk, professional-investor-only structured notes to toxic, illiquid, risky UCIS funds (Unregulated Collective Investment Scheme – illegal to be promoted to UK residents). Whilst these types of investments are not illegal in their own right, they are only suitable for certain people with deep pockets and sound investment experience. Or, alternatively, they are totally unsuitable for pension funds – full stop.

When taking advice on transferring your pension fund you should always ensure the adviser you choose is either based in the UK OR in the country you reside/plan to reside in. Alternatively, you must make sure the adviser is regulated and qualified for pension and investment advice in the jurisdiction where you reside.

Some of the pension scams that we are aware of are Ark, Capita Oak, Evergreen QROPS, Henley Retirement Benefit Scheme, Westminster, Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund, Continental Wealth Management (CWM), London Quantum. The underlined scams are being investigated by the FCA.

The 5 pointers from the Pension Regulator are:
1. If you think you’ve been scammed – act immediately
2. Cold called about your pension? Hang up!
3. 3. Deals ‘too good’ to be true
4. 4. Using an adviser? Make sure they’re registered with the FCA
5. 5. Don’t let a friend talk you into an investment – check everything yourself
For more details please see their web page

Image from https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/news/scamproof-your-savings-mar15

If you’ve already signed something you’re now unsure about, contact your pension provider straight away. They might be able to stop a transfer that hasn’t taken place yet.

If you think you’ve been targeted by an investment scam, please report it to the FCA using their reporting form.

If you have lost money to a suspected investment fraud, you should report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or online at www.ActionFraud.police.uk.

The FCA has launched a new campaign ScamSmart.

If you have doubts about what to do, ask The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) for help. Call them on 0300 123 1047 or visit the TPAS website for free pensions advice and information.

Beware of being targeted in the future, particularly if you lost money to a scam. Fraudulent companies might take advantage of this and offer to help you get some or all of your money back.

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With out due diligence and knowledge you often won´t realise that you are the victim of a pension scam until its too late. Its best to have the knowledge so you can tell what is a pension scam and what is a genuine pension scheme.

Therefore, Pension Life has written a series of blogs about pensions, pension scammers and how to safe guard your pension fund from fraudsters. Please make sure you read as many as possible and ensure you know everything you should about your pension fund. If we can educated the masses about pension fraud we can stop the scammers in their tracks – worldwide.

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Here at Pension Life we are noticing a new type of pension scam – Fractional Scamming – please read our blog about this type of scam.

Follow Pension Life on twitter to keep up with all things pension related, good and bad.
February 8, 2018