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FRAUD IN FINANCIAL SERVICES – THE ELEPHANT IN THE WORLD

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Jody Smart – aka Bell, Kirby and Pearson – has just been imprisoned for three and a half years for fraud against two victims. If she does not pay them (Tim and Sally) the money they lost (£320,000 and £70,000 respectively) Jody will serve over a year more. https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2026/10/05/jody-smart-jail-continental-wealth-management/ But is this a victory for

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TITAN – OR TITANIC?  (Ever more victims boarding the Doomed Utmost Ship)

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The offshore “wealth management” industry is continuing to bang the drum about insurance bonds – also known as offshore bonds.  The current “hook” used to capture as many victims as possible is “tax-efficient pensions”.  And the ideal victims for the dogged, commission-hungry salesmen are, of course, the “high net worth” people with up to £500,000 to

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JAMES CORBETT KC – BACK IN THE SADDLE

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To: jckc@jamescorbettkc.com From: angie.brooks@pension-life.com Dear Mr. Corbett Firstly, may I congratulate you on your unbelievable recent recovery from “ill health”.  It is understood that your condition had been so debilitating that it prevented you from publishing your determination against Quilter International and Friends Provident International in June 2026.  I am sure your family must be

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MARK DONNELLY, NIGEL GREEN, GORDON COUCH – DEVERE, BRITE ADVISORS & TRIBUNE

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Nigel Green of deVere and Fraudster Mark Donnelly of Brite Advisors DONNELLY, GREEN & COUCH.  Sounds like a dodgy firm of solicitors like Sue, Grabbit & Run.  Instead it is three (alleged) independent financial advisers inextricably linked to the Brite Advisors fraud and the GFS pension disaster in Hong Kong.   Financial journalist Ali Hussain captured

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Malta has hosted pension and investment fraud on a huge scale for years.

MALTA – THE ALTAR OF FRAUD

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MALTA – THE ALTAR OF FRAUD Malta has a long history of facilitating not just massive-scale pension fraud, but all types of financial fraud as well.   Recent reports indicate a sharp increase in fraud cases and financial losses in the grubby little island of Malta.  A corrupt jurisdiction where neither the financial regulator nor the

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PLANET PENSIONS also known as Square Mile and Aktiva

PLANET PENSIONS S.R.O. – HELL ON EARTH FOR PENSION SCAM VICTIMS

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Since 2013, thousands of clients of Planet Pensions – previously known as Aktiva Wealth Management and Square Mile International Financial Services – have been scammed out of their pensions. John Ferguson and David Vilka of Planet Pensions (Square Mile/Aktiva) advised UK residents to transfer their pensions into QROPS including: The clients were conned into these

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Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund Judgement

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High Court Rules in Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund Case against James Hadley and associates. In a recent High Court judgment, Judge Mr. Nicholas Thompsell found that the Cayman-Islands based Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund (TMAF) was involved in an illegal conspiracy to “extract commissions from the investments.” The defendants, who were also behind the 2013 Store

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TOP 3 WORST LIFE OFFICES

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For over a decade, life offices (more accurately known as “death” offices) have been the centre of millions of pounds’ worth of destroyed pensions. So here we are going to name the top 3 worst life offices… These are just some of the things they’ve been up to: Collaborating with scammers: unregulated, rogue firms posing

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THE BOLLOCKS OF OLD BAILEY

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I don’t often disagree with highly-regarded pensions expert Henry Tapper.  Too much respect and awe.  But his recent blog: “The Balls of Old Bailey” (about Andrew Bailey) merits a polite argument.  It has made me cross – not cross with Henry, per se.  But cross with the failure of Britain’s culture, government, regulation and legal

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The Web of Pension Scams

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On the web of pension scams It seems as though criminal convictions against pension scammers might be getting popular. More than a decade has gone by with virtually none of the usual suspects getting jailed – despite a few criminal investigations (that, so far, have not resulted in convictions). Is the system really that hopeless

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Pension Scams Explained

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Every offshore pension scam starts with a “financial advisor”. Or, at least, a slick salesman posing as a financial adviser.   This person can also call himself a “wealth consultant” or “senior associate”. After the scammer pretending to be an adviser, the next player is the life office. More accurately described as a “death” office, this

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Pension Scam Investments

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The world of pension and investment scams is dominated and driven by commissions on investments (usually unregulated). The scammers’ strategy is always identical: get the pensions away from the safety of a reputable pension provider and into the hands of a SIPP, a SSAS or a QROPS. One purported benefit of these types of schemes

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Brev at Bond Review has been doing the FCA's job for it for more than four years.

Goodbye Bond Review

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Brev at Bond Review has been doing the FCA’s job for it for more than four years. He (or she) has warned the public on the excellent Bond Review blog about the dangers of investment scams in the form of “bonds”. While the FCA have sat around doing little of any use – except keeping

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Blackmore Global pension scam victim who cares

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The following blog was written by Stephen Sefton: a Blackmore Global Victim who cares about pension scams. Stephen was scammed by David Vilka of Square Mile International Financial Services around six or seven years ago.  Vilka, who had neither qualifications nor a license to provide pension or investment advice, arranged the transfer of Mr. Sefton’s

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Who cares about Careys and the world of pension scams?

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Pension scams have been destroying lives for more than a decade.  The scammers cause poverty, marriage breakdowns and even death.  Death caused by stress-related illness.  And death by suicide. A typical pension scam involves an unlicensed person pretending to be a financial adviser.  This is illegal.  But it goes on all the time, in the

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Death offices such as Quilter International should now also stand trial for their role in offshore pension and investment fraud

Fraud Trial Against Pension Scammers in Spain

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The Spanish criminal trial of so-called “financial advisers” in Denia has exposed the widespread fraud routinely committed in offshore financial services for over a decade. This particular stage of this particular trial may be directed at just eight members of Continental Wealth Management and Premier Pension Solutions. For now. But the case – brought by

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Stephen Ward - well-known, serial pension scammer. The "architect" of the Ark scam and many others besides.

Vicious Circle of Stephen Ward’s and Dalriada’s pension scams.

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January 28/29 2021 saw the cross examination of Stephen Ward in Pension Life’s criminal case in the Denia court. Ward gave the judge an elaborate explanation as to how and why none of the Continental Wealth Management pension and investment scams were his fault. Ward provided the pension transfer “advice” to hundreds of Continental Wealth

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Brave pension scam Manita Khuller took on rogue QROPS trustee FNB and won. Also a Quilter International victim, and scammed by unlicensed Eric Jordan and Colin Bloodworth of Professional Portfolio International, this brave and determined woman took her case to court in Guernsey and won.

Manita Khuller Award – Justice Against All Odds

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The recent awards given to Quilter Cheviot and Quilter International by International Adviser (sponsored by Quilter) must have sickened and disgusted many Quilter (OMI/Skandia) victims. Editor Kirsten Hastings’ saccharine and gushing words of praise will have been seen as offensive in the extreme by the thousands of victims who have lost their pensions and life

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Rogue "life" offices Quilter International, SEB and Generali (Utmost Wealth) now due to face trial in Spain for facilitating pension and investment scams.

Spanish litigation: Quilter Ireland, SEB and Generali

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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

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Fraud Alert. Quilter must learn not to be hypocritical. To stifle fraud, all they need to do is to stop giving terms of business to unlicensed firms with a history of scamming.

Quilter: Critical or Hypocritical?

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Recent data obtained by Quilter (formerly Old Mutual International and Royal Skandia) under a freedom of information request has further highlighted the issue of financial education, or rather the lack of it, with many casualties of fraud ‘unaware they may have fallen victim‘ to such a scheme. Quilter plc (the well-known asset/wealth management company, “life

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International Adviser invites Pension Life to enter the Best Practice Adviser Awards in partnership with Quilter International

International Adviser Awards

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International Adviser Awards create buzz around Quilter’s, FPI’s and RL360’s facilitation of investment fraud and scams. I am deeply flattered that International Adviser has invited me to enter for this year’s “Best Practice Adviser Awards”.  The invitation was sitting – sparkling like a princess – in my inbox this morning.  So, how could I refuse?

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RL360 and FPI - a marriage made in hell for the victims of mis-sold, high-risk, unsuitable investments such as structured notes, LM, Axiom and Premier New Earth

RL360 and FPI – ’til death (or poverty) do us part

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RL360’s acquisition of Friends Provident International may be set to ruin even more investors internationally. It will certainly increase competition with Quilter (or Skandia, or Ann Summers or whatever OMI are calling themselves this season). The biggest question – and one which International Adviser’s Kirsten Hastings forgot to ask RL360 David Kneeshaw when she interviewed

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Pension Life has issued legal proceedings in the matter of the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund which is being wound up by Doran + Minehane

Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund

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Pension Life and Forsters LLP have issued proceedings in respect of the Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund. Trafalgar Multi Asset Fund This Cayman Islands-based fund is being liquidated and it is uncertain whether there will be any recovery for the victims whose pensions were invested in it. Nearly 250 STM Fidecs QROPS members stand to lose

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Slater and Gordon Lawyers' Steve Kuncewicz was representing Blackmore, Phillip Nunn and Patrick McCreesh in July 2017 and trying to stop Pension Life from warning the public about them.

Slater and Gordon and Blackmore (poacher turned poacher)

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On July 18th 2017, Slater and Gordon Lawyers wrote me the below email. Lawyer Steve Kuncewicz clearly stated that Slater and Gordon acted for their client: Blackmore Global PCC Limited; Phillip Nunn and Patrick McCreesh. The full transcript is below – complete with my comments in bold. This is a 25-page document, so I don’t

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Dean Stogsdill and Neil Hathaway of CWM leaving the Denia Criminal Court on 25th February 2020 after being cross examined on charges of fraud, disloyal administration and falsification of commercial documents.

CWM Criminal Case and Business Plan

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This landmark Continental Wealth Management criminal case will inevitably shine a much-needed spotlight on the issue of offshore financial services generally. CWM was just one example (albeit an extreme one) of an international financial services culture which generally disadvantages and/or defrauds consumers. The cause of this culture is a combination of the obsession with the insurance bond cartel; the total reliance on (hidden) commission; the practice of churning (investing the same sum of money as often as possible to generate as much commission as possible) and the view that the client’s money and interests are secondary to the adviser’s.

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