Tag: Angie Brooks

Windsor Pensions Pension Liberation Scam

THE WAY THE WINDSOR PENSIONS PENSION LIBERATION SCAM WORKED

Members were persuaded to transfer their pension into a QROPS and with a hefty transfer fee of at least 10%. The rest was liberated with no attempt to even try to clock the transaction in a “loan” vehicle. In fact, the transfers never went anywhere near the actual QROPS but into a bank account with the same name as the QROPS. This was clear fraud.

IDENTITY OF THE MAIN PLAYER IN THE WINDSOR PENSIONS PENSION LIBERATION SCAM

Steve Pimlott of Windsor Pensions

http://www.windsorpensions.com/

HMRC is now sending out the tax demands to the victims and these are being appealed. It is not known how many people were involved, but according to HMRC it is a lot. When asked about the possibility of a tax liability, Pimlott’s response has been:

“I cannot give you tax advice. If you cash out, it’s possible that HMRC will send you a tax bill. We assisted approximately 5,000 people who took that route and I would estimate that 200-300 did receive a tax bill. The rest to my knowledge did not. Of those that did, many just ignored it because they were resident in a different country and had no assets left in the UK.”

June 9, 2016
Salmon Enterprises Pension Scam – how it all worked

SALMON ENTERPRISES PENSION SCAM – THE WAY THE SCHEME WORKED

James Lau, allegedly a financial adviser with Wightman Fletcher McCabe operating from an office in the Regus building, Great Pultney Street, Bank London. Lau explained the Salmon Enterprises pension scam to clients using a series of diagrams that members could release funds from a pension transfer and use them for any investment rather than be tied to investments chosen by the pension trustee/administrator. He also explained that part of it could be taken out as a loan which he claimed was legal. He also stated that HMRC was aware of this and accepted that it was not a tax avoidance scheme.

Members never received any loan agreement or pension statement from either James Lau or the trustees – Tudor Capital Management – despite repeated requests to both Lau and his assistant Victor Ray. A number of members subsequently introduced the scheme to friends, family and associates.

The advantages stated by James Lau were that pension funds could be released legally and used for a person’s own use. Members could invest it or receive as a non-repayable loan which was “legal and non-taxable as it was a commercial loan”. Lau also claimed the loan would have a nominal percentage each year to pay back which would be covered by the rest of the pension left (approx. 15% of the transfer) which would be invested. The returns it would make would cover the interest of the loan. Lau made it clear this was not a tax avoidance scheme and complied with HMRC rules and that the loan could be extended.

Lau also claimed that the underlying assets of the scheme were “various, diverse, low-risk opportunities, including forex in his own company Goswell Square Capital – a venture with Omari Bowers and Andrew Skeene who have since been investigated and made bankrupt following the collapse of the FX venture.

James Lau claimed to be authorised by the FSA at the time with Wightman Fletcher McCable under the Clarkson Hill insurance group.

The trustees of the Salmon Enterprises pension scam – Tudor Capital Management – were the subject of a criminal investigation by the CPS, HMRC and the Pensions Regulator which was published on 8.4.2010 (prior to many of the transfers) and resulted in the trustees: Peter Spencer Bradley, Alison Bradley and Andrew Meeson, being jailed for tax fraud. Tudor Capital Management had been the trustees for 25 schemes in total.

THE IDENTITY OF THE MAIN PLAYERS

James Lau

Victor Ray

Peter Spencer Bradley

Alison Bradley

Andrew Meeson

HOW THE MAIN PLAYERS WERE INVOLVED

Lau was the main promoter; Ray was the administrator; Bradley and Meeson (now in jail) were the trustees.

June 8, 2016
Pennines Pension Scam: How it worked

THE WAY THE PENNINES PENSION SCAM WORKED

Members were targeted by “Cash From Pensions” and persuaded to transfer into Pennines to get an “unconnected loan” once they had transferred into the Pennines scheme which was invested in Hedge Capital. The scheme is now in the hands of Dalriada Trustees.

There were around 143 victims with a total value of £3,280,325.27 worth of transfers in the fund. The Pennines pension scam was run alongside two other schemes: Mendips and Malvern between August 2011 and March 2012. The trustee was John Laurence Woodward (of HCL) and Jennifer Doris Ilett. The administrator was T12 Administration.

The promoters of the scam were Unlock My Frozen Pension and Cash 4 Pensions (Adrian Price). The “hook” used to tempt victims into the scam was the assurance that they could “legally access pension funds without incurring tax liabilities”. The fees charged were 3% per annum plus £500 management fee

Dalriada Trustees were appointed on the 28^th March 2012 by the Pensions Regulator. The victims of the Pennines pension scam liberated various amounts ranging from 25% upwards and HMRC started sending out protected assessments in March 2015.

http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/dn2144796.pdf

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2012/21626.html

One very distressed victim of the Pennines pension scam – who has been treated for severe depression for several years as a result of this scam – reported:

“I was doing several searches online for a loan, that would maybe accept a person with bad credit when the “unlock my frozen pension” appeared. It all seemed very legitimate so I sent off an enquiry form.

I was called back immediately by a member of the unlock my frozen pension team, they spent a lot of time telling me that they would put me in contact with a company called Hedge Capital who would transfer my pension into their scheme, and that I would legally be able to access 25% of my pension fund as a tax-free lump sum which was to be repaid once I reached the age of 55 . In the meantime, the remaining amount of my pension would be invested , in the scheme until I reached the age of 65 and there was little or no risk involved.

I was also contacted by a company called Money Helpers, who prompted me to word an email to Towers Watson for the transfer of my pension. My knowledge of the pension and taxation position was very limited at that time and I believed what I was being told by the Unlock My Frozen Pension people. I contacted Towers Watson who held my pension from JP Morgan (my former employer) about the transfer and they told me they were happy to go ahead with it.

I believed I was taking an advance on my pension in a perfectly legal manner as it was to be repaid at age 55.”

June 8, 2016
London Quantum Pension Scam: How it worked
HOW THE LONDON QUANTUM PENSION SCAM WORKED

The London Quantum pension scam was the brainchild of Stephen Ward. Ward’s firm Dorrixo Alliance was the trustee and administrator of the scheme. Dorrixo was also trustee for a number of other pension liberation scams such as Headforte and Southlands which were used for “loans” when Evergreen got removed from the HMRC QROPS list.

London Quantum victims were promised “healthy” returns and the scheme is now in the hands of Dalriada Trustees who were appointed by the Pensions Regulator in 2015.

THE IDENTITY OF THE MAIN PLAYERS

Stephen Ward of Dorrixo Alliance (trustee/administrator)

Gerard Associates

Viva Costa International

HOW THE MAIN PLAYERS WERE INVOLVED

Ward’s Dorrixo Alliance was the trustee/administrator. Gerard Associates https://www.gerardassociates.co.uk/ (website undergoing “routine maintenance”) provided (or didn’t provide) advice. VCI were the introducers.

WHAT THE PENSIONS REGULATOR SAID ABOUT THE SCAM

TPR gave Stephen Ward a stern “dressing down” over the London Quantum scam and warned all pension savers to be extra careful when considering transferring away from their existing pension, after publishing details of governance failings in the London Quantum Retirement Benefit Scheme.

The London Quantum pension scam brought into sharp focus how people should remember that promises of high and/or guaranteed investment returns that sound too good to be true are often scams.

While investigating this scam, the regulator discovered that more than £5.8 million worth of victims’ pension funds had been put at risk between August 2014 and May 2015.

Nicola Parish, Director of Case Management at TPR, said: “The concerns we received about the scheme highlighted worrying factors regarding its governance.

“This case should act as a reminder to all savers, pension scheme trustees and administrators to remain alert to the dangers of transferring pension savings in order to access unrealistically high returns often associated with exotic sounding investment opportunities.”

TPR reported that, as trustee, Dorrixo – run by Stephen Ward and his sidekick Anthony Salih, had a “serious disregard to the obvious risks that members might be misled about the true nature of the investments held by the scheme”. The regulator also exposed other aspects to Ward’s scam which included:
- Risky and illiquid investments
- Lack of documentation
- Introducer fees – The scam was promoted to victims by introducers and cold callers, who were paid up to 30%.
- Advisers – There was no auditor was appointed to the scheme and Stephen Ward did not take proper advice on the investments.
Clearly, the London Quantum scam was never set up for the benefit and in the interests of the victims, but in the interests of Stephen Ward and his team of scammers to earn the maximum amount of commission out of the toxic, illiquid, high-risk investments.
June 8, 2016
Henley Pension Scam

HENLEY PENSION SCAM

THE WAY THE SCHEME WORKED

This was the “sister” scheme to Capita Oak, whose trustee was Imperial Trustee Services. The Henley trustee was Omni Trustees. Both Omni and Imperial were wound up by the Insolvency Service in the summer of 2015 and the two schemes had around £20m invested in Store First store pods. Store First is part of Toby Whittaker’s Group First – and another of his companies is Park First which Stephen Ward’s London Quantum scam was invested in.

The Henley Retirement Benefits Scheme was a bogus occupational scheme registered by HMRC and the Pensions Regulator. The scheme received £8.6m from members of the public between 2012 and 2013.

The administrator to the scheme was T12 Administration followed by DBC Pension Services Ltd on 7.3.13. Stuart Chapman-Clarke’s firm Sanderson Clarke was involved in promoting the scam. The store pods were purchased by solicitors Metis Law in Leeds.

The victims were promised guaranteed 16% returns and were told they could legally access 50% of their pension without incurring tax liabilities.

https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/PO-4414.pdf and https://www.gov.uk/government/news/insolvency-service-takes-action-to-protect-pension-funds

June 8, 2016
Evergreen QROPS Pension Scam and Marazion Loans

EVERGREEN RETIREMENT TRUST QROPS PENSION SCAM AND MARAZION LOANS

THE WAY THE SCAM WORKED

When Ark got shut down in June 2011, Stephen Ward flew to New Zealand and set up the Evergreen NZ QROPS liberation scam with Simon Swallow of Charter Square. Ward also set up a “loan” company in Cyprus called Marazion. He also did a deal with two investment funds: Penrich and Spectrum. Expats would transfer their UK pensions to Evergreen and pay a 10% transfer fee. As soon as the transfer was complete, a loan – funded by either

Expat victims (mostly) would transfer their UK pensions to Evergreen and pay a 10% transfer fee. As soon as the transfer was complete, a loan – funded by either Penrich or Spectrum (to whom the loans were assigned) was arranged between Marazion and the member. The loan was for a fixed five-year term, and the member was made to sign a “lock in” agreement with Evergreen.

The loan interest was 8.5% compound (quarterly) and would mean that the original loan amount would increase by 50% by the end of the five years. Ergo, the maths worked like this at the outset: £100k transfer; £10k fees; £90k Evergreen fund; £50k loan. At the end of the five-year term, the Evergreen fund would either have increased, decreased or remained the same (in fact, it has decreased) and the loan would have increased to £75k. The member was offered the option to renew the loan for a further five-year term at a higher rate of interest.

For three years, Evergreen managed to avoid disclosing what the assets of the scheme actually were, but in 2015 they had no choice other than to disclose that 41% of the scheme’s assets consisted of Penrich and Spectrum. After a lengthy and detailed complaint to the NZ Ombudsman, the complaint against Evergreen was not upheld and the victims were originally left “locked in” until 2017. However, Evergreen has now moved the goal posts and the victims are locked in until they reach the age of 55. Evergreen was removed from the QROPS list by HMRC in November 2012.

THE IDENTITY OF THE MAIN PLAYERS

Stephen Ward of PPS/Marazion

Continental Wealth Management SL who acted as introducers

Simon Swallow of Charter Square

HOW THE MAIN PLAYERS WERE INVOLVED

Continental Wealth acted as introducers – and referred to the firm as the “sister” company to Ward’s company Premier Pension Solutions; PPS processed the transfers and loans; Swallow of Charter Square managed the scheme.

June 8, 2016
London Quantum – Dorrixo Alliance Pension Trustee

Car Parking spaces are NOT suitable assets for a pension fund

DORRIXO Alliance is a pension trustee firm (for London Quantum among various others) run by Stephen Ward and his sidekick Anthony Salih

THE WAY THE SCAM WORKED

Dorrixo was a pension scheme administration and trustee company set up by Stephen Ward. It was the trustee for at least a couple of schemes – possibly dozens or more (including London Quantum placed in the hands of Dalriada by tPR in June 2015).

THE IDENTITY OF THE MAIN PLAYERS

Stephen Ward and Anthony Salih

HOW THE MAIN PLAYERS WERE INVOLVED

Trustees/administrators for a number of pension schemes operating either liberation or questionable investments or both. The victims first started to be scammed into the London Quantum pension scam in August 2014.

Dorrixo Alliance was the trustee/administrator for a number of pension liberation scams operated by Stephen Ward after Ark and Evergreen got shut down. When Ward moved away from liberation scams he moved into toxic pension assets which paid handsome investment introduction commissions.

Dorrixo Alliance was trustee for the London Quantum Occupational Pension Scheme – later London Quantum Retirement Benefit Scheme . This scam was placed in the hands of Dalriada Trustees in 2015. London Quantum was a bogus occupational scheme and had 96 members with a total of £6.8 million. The sponsoring employer was Quantum Investment Management Solutions LLP and the administrator was Stephen Ward’s Premier Pension Transfers Ltd.

The advisory firm behind this scam was an associate of Stephen Ward’s – FCA-registered Gerard Associates, run by Gary Barlow. A herd of “introducers” was responsible for scamming victims into London Quantum included Viva Costa International, Go BMV, Baird Dunbar, What Partnership.

The assets of the scheme included Dolphin GmbH, Best International (ABC Corporate Bond and Dubai Car Parks), The Resort Group, Quantum PYX Managed FX Fund, Reforestation Group Ltd, Park First, Colonial Capital Group plc. None of these were suitable for a pension fund.

The London Quantum scam was Suspended by tPR and placed in the custody of Dalriada Trustees in June 2015.

June 3, 2016
ARK Pension Scam: How it worked
ARK PENSION SCAM – THE WAY THE SCHEME WORKED:

Six “occupational” schemes were used: Lancaster; Portman; Cranborne Star; Woodcroft House; Tallton Place and Grosvenor Parade. Each scheme had to have less than 100 members to stay under tPR’s inspection radar. Member A would transfer their £100k pension to – say – Lancaster; Member B would transfer their £100k pension to – say – Tallton; after paying the 5% fee, both A and B would then have £95k in their respective schemes; the Lancaster scheme would then make a “loan” of £50k to member B and the Tallton scheme would make a “loan” of £50k to member A. These so-called loans were called MPVAs (Maximising Pension Value Arrangements) and formed part of a scheme called PRP (Pension Reciprocation Plan).

This MPVA arrangement was supposed to work along “peer to peer” lines with a named member “lending” 50% of their fund to another member of a different fund. Apparently, there was a spreadsheet showing the reciprocal arrangements between members, and some members were told they had been “paired” with another member with a similar sized transfer. However, it was actually impossible to determine whether any individual had “made” a loan since no segregated accounts were kept by Ark, and even when Dalriada Trustees took over they did make any attempt to produce segregated accounts. This point is very important because HMRC are issuing protected assessments on the basis of members receiving as well as making loans. In my defence against the assessments I am making it clear that nobody made a loan – and even if there was a spreadsheet stating that a member had made a loan, it is impossible to establish that they did because all the funds were pooled.

In the beginning, i.e. around Q3 2010, all the transfer administration was handled by Craig Tweedley and his team at Ark, but as the success of the scheme grew more and more quickly, Stephen Ward and his UK manager Anthony Salih (based at 31 Memorial Road, Worsley) were gradually taking over. By May 2011 when Dalriada were appointed, all the members’ records were held at 31 Memorial Road. Ward was on the point of effectively taking over completely and squeezing Craig Tweedley out altogether.

THE IDENTITY OF THE MAIN PLAYERS

Ark was set up by Andrew Isles of Isles and Storer Accountants and he called in Craig Tweedley of Ark Business Consulting and Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions SL and Premier Pension Transfers Ltd. Two pension trustee firms were set up: Athena and Minerva, and fourteen schemes were registered with HMRC and tPR (although only six were ever actually used as tPR appointed Dalriada in May 2011 before the other eight could be used).

http://www.islesandstorer.com/#!meet-the-team/c193z

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/OC353908/filing-history?page=2

http://www.ifalife.com/members/profile.asp?UserID=15937

https://www.bookdepository.com/Tolleys-Pensions-Taxation-2016-2017-Stephen-Ward/9780754552642

HOW THE MAIN PLAYERS WERE INVOLVED

This started as Craig Tweedley’s “baby” but Stephen Ward was rapidly taking over. Tweedley had brought in various “introducers” (see the PRP spreadsheet) including Andrew Isles himself, Cavendish & Provident, Geoff Mills, Jeremy Denning and Silk Financial Services etc., although by far the biggest single introducer was PPS who accounted for approximately a third of the total transfers.

Ward ran a series of “road shows” at various locations in the UK, including Silvermere Golf Club, to introduce this “amazing opportunity” to a variety of potential introducers and clients. Apparently these events were full to capacity – as Jeremy Cornford will attest. Throughout the promotion of Ark, Ward used his credentials as a CII Level 6 qualified IFA, former pensions examiner and government consultant, author of Tolleys Pensions Taxation, and tied agent of FSA, CNMV and DGS as evidence of his professionalism, authority and respectability. When questioned as to whether the loans were definitely not taxable he assured potential members that he was qualified to guarantee there would be no tax to pay. When asked whether he had obtained legal opinion on whether there was any risk at all that the loans would be subject to tax, he replied that he had not because that would be tantamount to admitting that he was not sure.

In February 2011, after HMRC held a meeting with Tweedley and Ward, Tweedley did obtain legal opinion from junior barrister Amanda Harding, and this confirmed her view that the loans were not taxable because of their reciprocal nature.

LOCATION OF MAIN PLAYERS’ PERSONAL ASSETS

Premier Pension Solutions S.L. CIF: B54414198 DUNS: B54414198
- Buzon 3077, Calle Haya 64, Moraira 03724 Alicante Email: sward@ppsespana.com
- Financial Information 2014 (EUR) – preparing to wind up the company:
Sales: 300,739.00 (down from 471,842.00 in 2013); Profit/Loss: -42,402 (down from +13,477 in 2013);

Total Assets: -46,493 (down from +6,888 in 2013); Owned and directed by Stephen Alexander Ward

Stephen Alexander Ward of Calle Madrono 24, Moraira, Alicante. Companies owned and directed:
- Premier Pension Solutions SL registered with the CNMV and DGS
- Premier Pension Transfers Ltd Co. No. 06657673, c/o Butterworth Jones, 7 Castle Street, Bridgewater TA6 3DT (previously 31 Memorial Road, Worsley, Manchester M28 3AG) (Net Worth £193,963)
- Dorrixo Alliance Ltd Co. No. 07808577, 7 Castle Street, Bridgewater TA6 3DT (previously 31 Memorial Road, Worsley, Manchester M28 3AG) (Net Worth £22,791)
- Marazion Ltd. Co. No. HE 299383, 225 Spyros Kyprianou Avenue, Strovolos, P.C. 2047, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Assets: properties in Teulada, Alicante – jointly with wife and son
- Seneca 108 LLC http://www.corporationwiki.com/p/1svk23/seneca-108-llc which owns at least six luxury villas in Florida and which generate income of approximately $10k per week http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3538149
- International Pension Transfer Specialists, 8 Ctra Moraira-Teulada, 62 CC Barclays, 03724 Moraira, Alicante (PO Box at Letters R Us) – registered with the CNMV and DGS
- Accounts filed in Spain for PPS do not reflect income of 1m Eur from Ark in 2010/11 and 1m Eur from Evergreen in 2011/12. (Also earned $0.5m a year from Florida properties since 2012). PPS’ declared sales for 2010 were 193k; for 2011 were 438k; for 2012 were 461k. Possible tax evasion Spain and elsewhere.
June 2, 2016
Pension scam victim David King describes his misery

All pension scam victims experience profound misery, worry, stress and sleepless nights. Few have the strength to speak out and tell the world what it is like to be the victim of this despicable financial crime. I asked David King, one of the Ark victims, to write his story:

“Firstly without you and your team fighting our case I think the casualty list would be extremely high as I know personally the effect its had on me and my family, and I consider myself an average person in this world so it has to be that others suffer the same as me but just don’t shout aloud how much this has affected people.

DAVID KING

HMRC, well where do I start, well let me say this, since 2011 I have lived in fear of the postman and anything coming via the post from HMRC. Every time a letter comes I shudder in fear of a tax demand, even though it may be the gas bill my mind always worries and makes me ill with worry. I am sure other like minded people will have endured the delights of HMRC and their approach with zero empathy and zero concerns; they could not care less what the impact is to individuals of these multiple frauds.

HMRC allow big organisations such as Google and Starbucks to operate in the UK paying virtually nothing in taxation, and seem to resist engagement with them for fear of losing, or is it just too difficult as they have to do some work! however, individual people like us get the full weight of HMRC on our cases as they know we are soft targets, and no matter what we do to try to defend ourselves they just plough the pressure back on without even listening to a single word we throw their way in our defence. It’s a complete shambles that they totally disregard our position and individual cases.

The postman still comes and when I hear the van and then our post box I shudder; I have not had a proper nights sleep in years and I worry each and every day if this is the week I get hit hard and have to find monies I just don’t have. HMRC have turned my life into a misery as I am not knowing what is going to happen; we are all tax paying citizens and we all deserve a fair and equitable hearing and one that will provide closure in a positive way so we can piece back together our lives and get back to being families with lives to lead, in an enjoyable manner, something that HMRC have taken away.”

April 28, 2016
Pension Liberation Fraud Facts

Pension Liberation – ruining thousands of lives. HMRC pursues the victims of pension liberation fraud and not the pension liberation fraudsters. This has got to change.

April 22, 2016
The Pensions Regulator: Updated Trustee Toolkit

The Pensions Regulator is a UK body set up to regulate and aid occupational pensions. They follow legislative criteria and work to improve the administration of work-based pensions. They are a valuable resource for all parties involved with pensions; trustees, employers, pension specialists and business advisers.

Their latest innovation is the updating of their trustee toolkit. It is based on the Pensions Act of 2004 and provides the minimum requirement for trustee compliance with this Act.

The new toolkit provides everything from self-assessment to online learning modules and downloadable resources.

The user needs to complete a login profile which gives access to all the information. It does lack some exact form of structure as to how you should complete the learning programme and there does not seem to be any form of certification on completion. Still, it is a valuable resource.

One would just wonder as to voluntary nature of this type of educational programme for trustees especially in light of how many trustees became ceding providers to scam liberation schemes.

April 1, 2016
Edward Troup HMRC’S Role in Six-Year Pension Liberation Fraud
Edward Troup 11^th March 2016

Chief Executive’s Office

HM Revenue & Customs

100 Parliament Street

London SW1A 2BQ

Dear Mr. Troup

HMRC’S ROLE IN SIX-YEAR PENSION LIBERATION FRAUD

Congratulations on your appointment as head of HMRC. I am sure you will have a great deal of work on your plate cleaning up the many problems left behind by your predecessor Lin Homer, but I must ask you to address the issue of HMRC’s involvement in pension liberation fraud/unauthorised payment tax as a matter of priority.

I have asked HMRC and government ministers on numerous occasions to address the question of a tax amnesty for victims of pension liberation fraud. The answer has always come back that this would not be considered as it would “send out the wrong message”.

I must point out that HMRC and the government have already sent out a very clear message to the British public that Homer’s long series of professional disasters and incompetence have been rewarded with her being made a Dame; avoiding being sacked; receiving a handsome pension of £2.2 million. This was not just a “wrong” message, but a disgraceful one.

Further, the recent scandal of major corporations such as J. P. Morgan, Amazon, Google, Starbucks and Netflix being let off £ billions in tax has not only undermined the principles of national fiscal responsibility, but it has also sickened the public and brought disgrace on both HMRC and the government. Another “wrong” message which harks back to Homer’s equally inept predecessor, Dave Hartnet, who was caught doing cosy “sweetheart” deals over lunches with tax dodging corporations.

The catalogue of HMRC’s numerous blunders and failures is too long to go into here, and of course the message for many years has been that HMRC have forgotten that they are public servants, and have ignored their own taxpayers charter: “We want to give you a service that is fair, accurate and based on mutual trust and respect. We also want to make it as easy as we can for you to get things right.” That would be the right message if it were true. But, sadly, it isn’t.

Turning to the question of the tax amnesty for victims of pension liberation fraud, HMRC’s role in facilitating this massive, international financial crime has been significant and culpable. HMRC registered all the scams in the first place, deploying zero due diligence, responsibility or common sense. Then, when HMRC realised that they had been responsible for greasing the scammers’ wheels, they did nothing to de-register the schemes and prevent victims from being scammed. There is substantial irrefutable evidence that HMRC was repeatedly registering occupational schemes to known scammers – without any regard whatsoever to the obvious fact that the scammers habitually used the term “HMRC approved” to dupe the victims into believing that the schemes were legitimate. The message that this has sent out to the British public is that HMRC has not only been profoundly inept and irresponsible, but has also fuelled the suspicion that HMRC may even have been deliberately complicit in the scams since they have potentially raised many £ millions in tax revenues. This sends out the message that in fact HMRC is no better and no less culpable than the scammers themselves.

On 21 February 2014, Lin Homer emailed me to assure me she would be investigating HMRC’s failings and promised she would be taking the matter very seriously. She undertook to get back to me the following week. That was the last I heard from her – despite me emailing her many times in the past two years.

I trust you will ensure that appropriate sanctions are imposed on Homer for her abject failures and a full investigation undertaken to establish whether she has in fact been in league with the scammers. This would, of course, explain why so many schemes were repeatedly registered to the same, habitual scammers.

It would also explain another mystery. In June 2014, I handed evidence of a large number of pension liberation schemes being run by Stephen Ward – including the pension trustee firm Dorrixo Alliance which had registered many schemes with HMRC over a long period of time. One of the occupational pension schemes registered by Dorrixo Alliance was London Quantum. But neither HMRC nor tPR did anything about London Quantum and it was not de-registered – as it clearly should have been immediately.

In August 2014, a serving Police officer lost his Police pension fund to London Quantum. But it was not for a further year that tPR placed the scheme in the hands of Dalriada Trustees. The scheme was filled with the usual toxic, illiquid assets which would have earned handsome investment introduction commissions for the trustees, administrators and promoters.

In the case of the Store First store pod pension investment scandal, well over a thousand victims lost their pensions totalling over £100 million to a number of pension scams – including Capita Oak which was administered by Stephen Ward. Approximately half of this was paid out in commissions. But, instead of hounding the scammers who received these commissions, or Store First’s owner Toby Whittaker who paid them, HMRC will be pursuing the victims who liberated part of their pensions in the form of “loans”. Not only does this send out the wrong message, but it also raises the question as to what extent HMRC were indeed complicit in all of this financial crime.

I have sent out a questionnaire to hundreds of pension liberation scam victims asking them why they believed their pension loans were legal and tax compliant. The answers were pretty much all identical (and I will be sending you a summary separately): they were told there was no connection between the pension transfer and the loan and that the transaction would not trigger an unauthorised payment charge as it used a legitimate tax “loophole”. Many were told that the scheme was approved by HMRC and of course the HMRC registration certificate gave credence to that claim. The parties who “advised” the victims to enter into these scams included regulated and unregulated IFA’s; practising solicitors and accountants; various introducers and promoters; debt management consultants; mortgage and insurance brokers; and Stephen Ward – government consultant, former pensions examiner and author of Tolleys Pensions Taxation.

The claim by the government and HMRC that a tax amnesty for victims “would send out the wrong message” is absolute nonsense and an insult to all those who are existing victims of scams and all those who will now become victims as a result of Justice Morgan’s recent ruling. I know of not a single person who deliberately and consciously set out to liberate their pension in the full knowledge that it was not a tax-compliant transaction. Furthermore, ruining thousands of fraud victims with crippling tax liabilities will force many into bankruptcy and they will lose their homes. These people will then become dependent on State benefits for the rest of their lives – and the unauthorised payment tax collected will last a mere couple of years before the Treasury is out of pocket. On top of this, there will be the vast cost to the NHS of the long-term health problems these victims will inevitably suffer.

Please let me know what date will be convenient for an urgent meeting to discuss this and agree a solution. Just to be clear, the agenda will be to agree a tax amnesty for victims of financial crime facilitated by HMRC and to seek compensation for the damage that HMRC’s negligence has caused. At this meeting we will need to examine in depth the various issues surrounding HMRC’s role in pension liberation fraud during the past six years and explore some appropriate remedies.

For the avoidance of doubt, I set out below the key items:
- Since 2010, HMRC have been registering schemes without checking the credentials of the trustees, the sponsoring employer or the purpose behind the scheme (i.e. to provide income in retirement, to operate pension liberation or to earn huge commissions on investment introductions).
- Why did HMRC fail to de-register schemes as soon as there were concerns in order to prevent victims from losing their pensions and gaining crippling tax liabilities? If you remember, HMRC had a meeting with Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions to discuss the Ark schemes in February 2011. At this time, there was about £7m in Ark, but HMRC did not suspend the registration and nothing was done to close the scheme down until three months later by which time there was £30 million in Ark. Hence, HMRC was directly responsible for hundreds of victims’ financial ruin and is currently pursuing these people for tax which was entirely preventable had HMRC suspended the schemes.
- Subsequently, having known that Stephen Ward was heavily involved in pension liberation, HMRC then went on to accept numerous pension scheme registrations from him and his company Dorrixo Alliance at 31 Memorial Road, Worsley. These included Southlands, Headforte and London Quantum – among many others.
- HMRC was handed evidence of these various schemes in May 2014, and yet took no action to suspend any of the schemes. Then in August 2014 a serving police officer lost his police pension to London Quantum.
- In 2010/2011, HMRC, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Pensions Regulator were all investigating the fraud being perpetrated by pension trustees Tudor Capital Management. But although there were a total of 25 different schemes involved – one of which was Salmon Enterprises (yet another bogus “occupational” scheme) – HMRC did nothing to suspend the schemes and prevent victims from losing their pensions and being exposed to tax liabilities.
- HMRC is currently pursuing thousands of pension scam victims for tax on transactions which could – and should – have been prevented had HMRC acted diligently. HMRC’s negligence must be acknowledged and this anomalous, unjust situation must be put right in accordance with HMRC’s own charter.
Yours sincerely

Angela Brooks – Chairman, Pension Life

c.c. Justice Morgan (Chancery Division); Steve Webb (Royal London); Ros Altmann (Pensions Minister); Andrew Warwick-Thompson (the Pensions Regulator); Boris Johnson (Mayor of London); David Gauke (Treasury Secretary); George Osborne (Chancellor)
April 1, 2016