And the firm added it is now appealing a tax charge from HMRC over this investment.

‘James Hay did not advise investors in relation to these investments; it acted solely as pension administrator. James Hay has received, in April 2017, assessment notices for sanction charges from HMRC for the tax years 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 in total for £1.8 million. These have been appealed and are the subject of ongoing discussions with HMRC.’

The investors themselves, whose SIPP investments are now worthless, will undoubtedly be interested to know the real story behind this disgraceful scam – which also involved other FCA-regulated SIPP providers such as Suffolk Life:

From: Stephen Ward <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: a solution for you!

Date: 17 October 2013 20:58:15 BST

To: billperkins <[email protected]>

Cc: Alan Fowler <[email protected]>

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 Elysian) 
  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 

The FCA-registered IFA was Angela South’s Magna Wealth.  We’ve had quite a good old chin-wag over this and while she said she did suspect I had hacked her emails, she denied she had done 40 of these transactions.  In fact, the only hacking I have ever done was plodding round Windsor Great Park on an elderly horse when I was a teenager.

But don’t you just love James Hay’s protestation: “we acted solely as pension administrator”?  Solely?  Pull the other one.  Come on FCA – wake up!  Perhaps we could have a competition between tPR and FCA to see which one could start doing some actual regulating first?  Tortoise and tortoise race?