Tag: Momentum Pensions

Fraud in Spain – Julius Baer

Spain is, sadly, the World’s capital of wealth scamming. For more than a decade, wealth planning has been perverted and converted into a commission-laden fraud. This financial crime has relieved thousands of victims of their pensions and life savings.

Originally a private Swiss bank, Julius Baer now wants to diversify into the Spanish wealth market. Hopefully, this is very good news. To date, Spain has been dominated by the dross of the commission churning machine. Some genuine, professional, qualified, fee-based financial advice in Spain would be welcome and also essential to clean up this crime-ridden territory.

Julius Baer has created a new team which includes Claudio Beretta and Claudia Linares. So just to give them a few friendly, helpful tips, here’s my message to them – which I hope they will accept in the spirit in which it is given.

If this newcomer to the Spanish market can bring proper fee-based financial advice to British expats in Spain, Julius Baer could change financial services the World over. The absurdly-stupid EU regulator: ESMA allows firms with only an insurance-mediation license to provide investment advice on portfolios held within insurance bonds. This, of course, facilitates most of the financial crime in Spain and the rest of Europe.

This widespread fraud – encouraged and handsomely rewarded by the death offices – oils the wheels of the illegal commission machine. These freely-spinning wheels result in herds of unqualified “advisers” (including drug addicts, convicted killers, prostitutes and fraudsters) conning thousands of victims out of their pensions.

Julius Baer proudly reports that it has created a new team, headed by Claudio Beretta and Claudia Linares, which includes Jorge Saavedra Doménech and Carlos Navarro Sabán.

This team is looking to provide services in the fields of wealth planning and wealth management. Julius Baer reports this constitutes;

“the overall Bank’s strategic conviction to further strengthen their presence in Western Europe and particularly in Spain.”

Hopefully, Julius Baer will avoid death offices and unlicensed spivs. And, even more essential to the fraud-saturated Spanish market, Julius Baer must make it clear there will be no secret or half-secret commissions involved – and concentrate purely on proper fee-based advice which is qualified and truly independent.

June 15, 2022
Spanish litigation: Quilter Ireland, SEB and Generali
Life offices who caused the death of victims and their life savings/pensions, will now face proceedings in the Spanish civil courts. Pension Life’s proceedings against the defendants are due to be launched before Christmas 2020. The defendants will be Quilter International (Ireland), SEB and Generali (which has changed its name to Utmost Wealth).

In the past ten years or so, the life offices – Quilter, SEB and Generali (shamefully promoted by International Adviser) – have freely given terms of business to unlicensed, unqualified, unscupulous “chiringuitos financieros”. These scammers – some with no license at all, and some with only a restricted insurance license – have put thousands of victims into pointless, expensive insurance bonds. The scammers’ sole motivation for the use of these insurance products is the commission paid by the providers: somewhere between 5% and 8% (depending on the term of the bond).

A bond is merely a “wrapper” (or container) and serves no purpose – other than a purported possible tax “efficiency” loophole. However, the so-called tax advantages are dubious at best outside the UK – and non-existent within a pension. In reality, any tax saved would be far outweighed by the high cost of the insurance bond.

The real problem with these insurance bonds has been the high-risk investments offered by the bond providers on their “platforms”. Many of the investments are highly toxic, only suitable for professional or sophisticated (or reckless) investors, and are chosen purely for the commissions they pay to the scammers.

Chiringuitos – such as the notorious Spanish firm Continental Wealth Management (which collapsed in 2017) – love insurance bonds; esoteric, unregulated investment funds; and structured notes. This passion comes not from any benefit provided to the victims, but from the huge commissions they (the scammers) can earn if their high-pressure sales techniques are effective.

One group of scammers – including Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions, Paul Clarke of AES International (now Roebuck Wealth), Darren Kirby and Jody Bell/Smart/Kirby/Pearson of Continental Wealth Management – is currently facing fraud charges in the Denia criminal court.

The fraud behind the insurance bond scams is, of course, facilitated and encouraged by the insurance companies themselves. One group of victims – who have lost hundreds of millions in risky, unsuitable investments such as LM, Axiom and Premier New Earth – has already issued proceedings in the Isle of Man civil court. Pension Life is preparing to issue another for the losses caused by other toxic funds and structured notes – also in the Isle of Man civil court.

Many of the culpable life offices base themselves on the tiny, dreary Isle of Man. It is a well-known tax haven for companies and individuals who are not prepared to pay their fair share of tax – and it also routinely harbours scams and scammers (due to limp regulation and ineffective governance). The failures of the IoM’s legal system – as part neither of the UK nor Europe – are well known and heavily exploited by institutions with nefarious intentions. Known, serial scammers such as Phillip Nunn and Patrick McCreesh of Blackmore Group based their Blackmore Bond (promoted by Surge Group – which also promoted the collapsed London Capital & Finance “mini bond”) and their Blackmore Global fund there.

And – of course – Quilter, Friends Provident International and RL360 are all based on the Isle of Man (referred to by many as the “Isle of Scam”).

In Spain, virtually every insurance bond ever provided has been sold to the victims illegally (in contravention of the Spanish insurance regulations). Few victims are ever made aware of the serious drawbacks of these products:
- inflexibility of the fixed terms of up to ten years
- annual fees are based on the original premium (amount invested) – which means that when investment losses occur, the fees have an ever-increasing damaging effect on the remaining funds
- bond providers will accept investment instructions from unqualified, unlicensed, known scammers
- obviously low-risk, retail investors (such as those in a pension) will be invested in high-risk funds
- when losses start to appear, the bond providers do nothing to challenge the reckless, irresponsible conduct of the scammers with whom they have terms of business
- some victims, whose entire portfolio has been wiped out by the investment fraud facilitated by the bond providers, continue to be charged annual bond fees
- victims’ signatures on investment dealing instructions are frequently forged or copied
The Isle of Scam courts will be watched with intense interest by thousands of Quilter, FPI and RL360 victims (whose life savings have been wiped out) over the coming year. But, meanwhile, the Spanish courts will get to hear the cases against providers based in Ireland. All victims of Continental Wealth Management have been asked to obtain their documents for the litigation from Trafalgar International. Any who have not received an email from Pension Life can contact Trafalgar’s Tony Barnett direct on:

information@trafalgar-gmbh.com

The letter of authority which needs to be sent to Mr. Barnett in order to participate in the Spanish civil proceedings against Quilter International, SEB and Generali (Utmost Wealth) is as follows (victims can copy and paste this text into a document if necessary):

URGENT Letter of authority to Antony Barnett of Trafalgar International GmbH

Mainzer Landstrasse 49, 60329 Frankfurt am Main Germany

Dear Mr. Barnett

Letter of Authority to provide documents relating to pension, insurance bond and investments/losses

Please accept this as my letter of authority for you to discuss, communicate and deal with Angela Brooks of Pension Life who is acting as my Representative on the subject of my affairs in respect of my pension, investments and losses arising as a result of Continental Wealth Management S.L./Continental Wealth Trust S.L.

Name: …………………………………………………………………………Signature: …………………………………………………………

Address: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………Passport Number: ……………………………………………..

Please provide the below copy documentation/information to Angela Brooks by return. These documents are required immediately for litigation in the Spanish Civil Court due to be issued next month. I intend to be a claimant in these proceedings against the life offices Quilter International Ireland, SEB and Generali (Utmost).
1. Pension transfer advice (Premier Pension Solutions or Global Financial Options)
2. Client contract, agreement and confirmation with CWM and Inter Alliance (For when CWM was with Inter Alliance)
3. Client contract, agreement and confirmation with CWM and Trafalgar (For when CWM was with Trafalgar International)
4. Fact find and risk profile
5. Insurance bond fees schedule
6. Insurance bond advisor transfer letter (from Inter Alliance to Trafalgar)
7. Insurance bond application
8. Insurance policy document
9. Latest valuation statement
10. Latest full transaction history from inception to date (or point of redemption)
11. Latest estimated bond surrender value
12. Copies of all investment dealing instructions since inception
13. Closing insurance bond statement (where bond has been surrendered)
14. Closing pension statement showing all charges and amount remitted (where pension has been redeemed)
15. Confirmation and full details as to how CWM’s insurance mediation/investment advice was licensed
16. Details of all fees and commissions charged by CWM, Inter Alliance, Globalnet and Trafalgar
17. Any correspondence relating to queries or complaints
18. Trafalgar’s professional indemnity insurance policy and schedule
19. In the case of a Quilter bond, confirmation as to whether it is Isle of Man or Ireland
October 29, 2020
NOVIA GLOBAL VS OLD MUTUAL INTERNATIONAL

The problem with money is that it blows away if you don’t hold it down, tie it up or stuff it down your knickers. That’s why you need to put it somewhere safe: in a shoe box on top of the wardrobe; under your mattress; in the safe or – if you’re feeling really brave – in the bank. Trouble is, left in cash, money shrinks (inflation, charges, moths). This is why so many advisers recommend a platform – aka “somewhere safe” to keep your money.

So, let’s look at two possible alternatives: the Novia Global platform and the Old Mutual International “bond”.

I’ve met Bill Vasilieff who runs Novia Global. He serves Earl Grey and nice biscuits. A man of few words, and even fewer syllables, he gave me a quick rundown on how the Novia Global platform works – and how much it costs.

I haven’t met Peter Kenny of Old Mutual International (OMI) – although I have spoken to him several times. As broadly Irish as Bill is Scottish, Peter Kenny also comes across as a softly-spoken and sincere chap. But there the similarity seems to end. Peter stood me up – I got a view of his office waiting room but wasn’t offered a cup of tea (let alone a biscuit).

Mind you, there isn’t much I don’t know about the Old Mutual International bonds. I’ve seen thousands of their policyholders’ statements – and they are frighteningly ugly and depressing. They accurately, faithfully and unemotionally report the destruction of their victims’ atrocious losses. And OMI regularly (like clockwork!) take their quarterly fees – irrespective of how deep the destruction of the policyholders’ funds is. In fact, some victims even find themselves in negative figures as OMI continue to account for their fees long after the whole blooming lot has gone.

Anyway, back to Bill and his welcoming teapot….I can’t really compare him to Pete but I can compare the two products. So here is a brief and brutal side-by-side line up of what the two “platforms” offer. And how much they cost. And how difficult they are to get out of. And how much financial crime they are associated with.

So the OMI “life bond” costs almost six times as much as the Novia Global platform. But that is if you are locked in for five years. You can get it cheaper – 1.15% – if you get locked in for ten years. But you must remember that if you are scammed, then OMI will have paid the scammer an 8% commission and you could get stuck with paying the quarterly fees for the next ten years, even if you’ve figured out you’ve been scammed. And the quarterly fees are based on your original investment – not on the impaired amount. If you’ve been scammed, and your fund value drops inexorably, the 1.15% will become bigger and bigger. And even if you lose your whole fund, OMI will keep taking their charges and pushing you further and further into debt.

A bit like the lyrics to Hotel California, with an OMI “bond”, you can’t check out any time you want, and you can only leave after between five and ten years. OMI will take that number of years to claw back the commission paid to your adviser – even if you have long since learned that your adviser was an unregulated scammer and has conned you into unsuitable, high-risk, high-commission investments that have badly damaged your fund. You are stuck with paying the quarterly fees to OMI – even after your whole fund has gone. One victim went from plus £300k to minus £25k – and counting. As your funds inside the OMI bond shrink, the 1.15% grows and helps destroy what is left of your fund even faster. But with the Novia Global platform, you can leave any time you want. No exit penalties. No hard feelings.

In Spain, the Supreme Court has ruled that bogus life assurance policies – such as those provided by Old Mutual International – used to hold investments are illegal. This is because they are neither proper insurance policies (which take risk in the interests of the consumer) nor are they proper investment platforms. The Spanish aren’t stupid – they can spot a scam much more easily than other jurisdictions and take action to prevent them from ruining future victims. This is in stark contrast to the likes of the Isle of Man and Gibraltar – which seem to revel in encouraging scams and protecting firms such as Old Mutual International (and STM Group) which facilitate financial crime on a massive scale.

January 30, 2019
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
CONTINENTAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT – PREMIER PENSION SOLUTIONS’ SISTER CO

Continental Wealth Management closes 29.9.17

Continental Wealth Management (CWM) was a financial advisory firm based on the Costa Blanca in Spain. Headed up by Darren Kirby, there were – until earlier in 2017 – 35 people working at the firm. The firm claimed to have £50 million worth of assets under management and around 500 clients. The firm closed down on 29.9.2017.

During 2016/17, numerous clients of CWM began to realise that their pension and investment funds – managed by CWM – were shrinking in value dramatically. In fact, many clients had seen alarming losses being reported on their valuation statements and had asked CWM for an explanation. CWM had assured the distressed clients that these were “just paper losses” and advised them not to worry.

It has now become clear that in fact many clients have indeed suffered catastrophic losses and there is a very great deal of concern. One victim was taken into hospital on 25.9.17 with a brain hemorrhage and her husband fears that the distress of this situation has contributed to this life-threatening condition.

It is feared that up to 40% of CWM’s clients may have been affected by this situation.

BACKGROUND TO CWM

CWM “advisers” acted as sharks

In mid-2011, Stephen Ward’s Premier Pension Solutions (PPS) lost the lucrative Ark pension liberation scam when the Pensions Regulator placed the scheme in the hands of Dalriada Trustees. Ward had advised 160 victims to transfer £10m worth of secure pensions into this scheme on the promise of having 50% of their pensions paid to them in cash. He also assured them these payments would not be repayable or taxable and that the pensions would be invested in “high-end London residential properties”.

In the event, neither of these assurances turned out to be true. Dalriada is now making claims to recover the 50% liberations and HMRC has issued tax demands at 55% of the cash received (and the tax will still be payable even if the liberations are repaid). The High Court called the Ark scheme a “fraud on the power of investment”.

Having ruined 160 lives, and made up to £1 million profit out of the Ark victims, Ward immediately turned his attention to his next scam: Evergreen New Zealand QROPS and his Marazion “loans”. Having seen how easily victims could be duped into transferring their safe pensions with the promise of 50% liberation, Ward appointed CWM as “introducers” to the scam.

Here is an actual account by one of the Evergreen/PPS/CWM victims of what happened to her:

Mrs. A: “I was first cold called by CWM in 2011. I first met Phil Kelman of CWM in January 2012. I was told only positive things about transferring my pensions and to be able to take 100% of my pension funds.

This, however, changed after the first meeting and I was then told that due to the government closing loopholes I would only be able to get 50% of my pension fund and that the other 50% would be in the Evergreen QROPS earning enough interest over the 5 years to cover the 50% that I could withdraw (before the age of 55) – a win win situation!

There was no mention of the 50% being given as a loan until much further down the line. This was supposed to have taken 6 weeks at the most, but it actually took nearly 10 months. I was told that the “loan application” was a paper exercise just to cover things – I obviously have no proof of these conversations! Due to the fact that in the beginning it was not a “loan” there was no talk of a 55% tax charge, also as it was QROPS I was told it wouldn’t have incurred a tax bill.

I was not given any opportunity to say what the consequences of losing my pension or gaining an extortionate tax bill would be – either in the short or long term. If I had known of the huge risk of losing everything then obviously I would not have gone ahead. I did not state that I was willing to risk everything to get the “loan”.

I was told that Evergreen was a safe place for my pension to be as Evergreen was “approved”. I was given a graph to show how my pension would not only make the 50% back up but make more on top of it.”

Marco Floreale – former CWM “adviser” – now MD of Carrick Wealth

Mrs. A’s case was handled by CWM’s Marco Floreale (now Managing Director of Carrick Wealth) who claimed to be the managing director of CWM. Her secure, final salary, £100k Royal Mail pension was transferred to Evergreen and she was forced to sign a five-year “lock in” before receiving her “loan”. The loan agreement issued by Stephen Ward included annual interest at 8.5% compound which would mean that her £50k loan would have increased to £75k at the end of the five-year term. She was also charged more than £10k in fees.

There are now around 300 victims trapped in Evergreen as they are not allowed to transfer out. Ever. Between them they have lost £10m worth of pensions. The CWM personnel involved in this scam claimed that PPS was their “sister” company and have offered no help or compensation for the victims’ losses and terrible distress. One victim died of cancer in February 2017 and her husband is convinced that the stress of the Evergreen situation brought on the disease.

Phil Kelman, Jon Meek, Robert Pearl, Gemma Broad and Anthony Downs were among the CWM personnel who assured the victims that the transfers were in their interests as well as safe and prudent. It was, of course, later discovered that the Evergreen fund was invested in illiquid, high-risk, toxic funds – including personal, unsecured loans. Evergreen was removed from the QROPS list in November 2012 and the victims have now been told they can never transfer out.

It is not known how many other Stephen Ward/Premier Pension Solutions scams CWM was involved in, but when Evergreen got shut down CWM started acting as “advisers” to British expats in Spain and France. They were still working with Stephen Ward of PPS who provided the transfer advice. It is now thought they advised more than 500 people and that around 40% of these have suffered crippling losses to their investments.

I do not know whether CWM ever disclosed their previous involvement with Stephen Ward’s scams to the clients – although it is doubtful that any people would have felt comfortable using CWM had they known they had been responsible for the 300 Evergreen victims. Certainly, CWM did not disclose their past activities to either Trafalgar International or Momentum Pensions – had they done so they would never have been given terms of business by either firm.

From 2013 onwards, CWM invested hundreds of low to medium risk clients’ investments in high-risk, illiquid assets. CWM completely ignored the suitability issue and paid no heed to the clients’ preference for safe, low-risk investments. Clients’ signatures were repeatedly copied and once the losses started to appear, CWM assured them that there was nothing to worry about and they were “only paper losses”.

When asked why so many clients were put into professional-investor-only investments, CWM replied that the investors themselves were not the clients; but the insurance companies were the clients. When I showed CWM evidence of forged signatures on dealing instructions several months ago, there was no response then and no further communication from them subsequently.

In mid-September, it was reported that Darren Kirby and Anthony Downs had both resigned from CWM and on Friday 29^th September 2017 the firm closed down altogether. CWM is rumoured to have tried to become a tied agent of a Cyprus-based firm called Woodbrook. But it is further suspected that Woodbrook has finally come to the conclusion that such an alliance may not be prudent.

The most important thing now is the restitution of the victims’ funds. OMI, Trafalgar and Momentum Pensions, have come to the table to try to find a solution and restore of the victims’ pensions and investments. If we can achieve an equitable settlement, this will be a first in European financial services. However, the parties who have not come to the table are life offices Generali and SEB, as well as other pension trustees including Concept, Sovereign, Pantheon, Elmo and STM. It is no surprise that STM have not come to the table, because they pulled up the drawbridge in the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund scam, run by XXXX XXXX – now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.

I would like to thank all the victims for their patience so far. But it has now finally run out – unsurprisingly. The mood has darkened and victims want action. A valuable information and commentary resource is the Repdigger forum. One interesting post recently reminded contributors that it was Stephen Ward of Premier Pension Solutions who provided the initial transfer advice. Nothing changes.

Stephen Ward is also connected to Capita Oak.

pension-life.com/top-10-deadliest-pension-scammers-hmrc/

October 1, 2017