Author: Pulse Assent

Karl Dunlop, Stuart Grehan and Ian Dunsford previously accepted disqualification undertakings for their management roles within the group of companies involved in the transfer of pension funds.

Stuart Greehan, Director of Sycamore Crown Ltd, agreed to a 9-year voluntary ban as a result of false and misleading statements made to encourage investors to transfer their pension pots.

Karl Dunlop (9 years), Director of Imperial Trustee Services Ltd, and Ian Dunsford (7 years), Director of Omni Trustees Ltd, agreed to voluntarily bans for failing to act in the best interests of pension members and subsequently failing to ensure investments were adequately diverse.

And despite not formally being appointed a director of Transeuro Worldwide Holdings Ltd, Stephen Talbot recently accepted a 9-year disqualification undertaking for failing to explain what happened to millions pounds worth of assets.

The investigation, led by the Insolvency Service, centred on the conduct of the directors connected with Transeuro Worldwide Holdings Ltd (TWH), who helped fund two introducer firms Sycamore Crown Ltd (Sycamore) and Jackson Francis Ltd (JF).

The introducer firms cold-called members of the public, inviting them to transfer their pension pots into Self Invested Personal Pension plans (SIPPs) and pension schemes operated by Omni Trustees Ltd (Omni) and Imperial Trustee Services Ltd (Imperial), who provided trustee and administrator services for two occupational pension schemes – Henley Retirement Benefit Scheme (HRBS) and Capita Oak Pension Scheme (COPS).

However, investigators found that the introducers from both Sycamore and Jackson Francis misled clients about their expertise and experience, offering ‘guaranteed’ returns designed to encourage them to transfer their existing pension funds.

As a result, more than £39m was paid into SIPPs, over £10m into COPS and more than £8m to HRBS. Members’ funds were then largely invested in unregulated investments in storage units which ultimately did not yield the level of returns promised to members.

Ken Beasley, Official Receiver for the Insolvency Service’s Public Interest Unit, said that unfortunately he has seen an increase in cases where members of the public have been persuaded to transfer their hard-earned pension pots into new schemes on the basis of unsubstantiated promises of higher returns which inevitably never materialise.

He said:

You may have seen the current campaign by the Financial Conduct Authority, where they recommend that you reject unexpected offers, especially those originating from a cold call. You should check who you are dealing with, avoid being rushed or pressured into making decisions and seek out impartial advice before going ahead with any pension transfer.

Suspicions should also be raised if you are promised high or guaranteed returns, unusual investments or complicated structures, high-pressure sales tactics, involvement of several parties, all taking a fee which significantly cuts into your pension pot, and long-term pension investments which could take years before you realise something is wrong.

Omni and Imperial are currently the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) who are inviting members of HRBS and COPS to complete a questionnaire.

Notes to editors

On 21 January 2017 The Pension Regulator appointed Dalriada Trustees Ltd as trustee of HRBS and COPS. Work is still ongoing in relation to the status and value of individual members’ pensions.

About the directors

Stephen Michael Talbot

Director of Transeuro Worldwide Holdings Ltd (Company number: 103954) from Salford and DOB: Jan 1972

On 6 July 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Stephen Michael Talbot, who whilst acting as a director of TWH despite not being formally appointed as such:

• failed to ensure that TWH maintained or delivered up adequate accounting records.
• as a result of this it has not been possible to ascertain whether payments out of the bank account of over £37 million were for a purpose connected with the business, the reason over £740k was paid out to Mr Talbot, the reason why £7.5 million (net) was paid out to a Panamanian foundation for which Mr Talbot was protector, show commissions due to or received from the company, show the nature of receipts into the company or establish the presence of any claims for the liquidator to pursue.

His ban was effective from 27 July 2018 and lasts for 9 years.

Ian Dunsford

Director of Omni Trustees Ltd (Company number: 08175702) from Barnet, Hertfordshire and DOB: Jan 1974

On 19 July 2017, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Ian Dunsford, after he admitted that he:

• failed to ensure that Omni, as trustee of a retirement benefit scheme, had acted in the best interest of members.
• took the appointment as director despite lacking the relevant knowledge and understanding to manage a pension scheme, allowed a third party to make investment decisions, failing to ensure that the investments were sufficiently diverse.
• failed to take sufficient steps to safeguard returns on investments promised to members resulting in potential losses to the scheme of at least £560k.
• failed to take sufficient steps to prevent the transfer of £3.7 million of scheme assets to a third party outside the jurisdiction.

His ban was effective from 10 August 2017 and lasts for 7 years.

Karl Dunlop

Director of Imperial Trustee Services Ltd (Company number: 08133190) from Worcester and DOB: May 1965

On 3 July 2017, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Karl Dunlop, after he admitted that he:

• failed to ensure that Imperial, as trustee of a retirement benefit scheme, had acted in the best interest of members.
• took the appointment as director despite lacking the relevant knowledge and understanding to manage a pension scheme
• failed to ensure that adequate accounting records had been maintained (in particular relating to member transfers in of over £4 million when he was director)
• failed to ensure that over £9m investments were sufficiently diverse
• failed to take sufficient steps to safeguard returns on investments promised to members resulting in potential losses to the scheme of at least £1.6 million.

His ban was effective from 25 July 2017 and lasts for 9 years.

Stuart Grehan

Director of Sycamore Crown Ltd (Company number: 08023102) and Jackson Francis Ltd Company number: 07763545) from Salford Worcester and DOB: August 1981

On 6 October 2016, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Stuart Grehan, after he admitted:

• false and misleading claims had been made about Sycamore and JF’s level of expertise and experience to induce prospective investors to transfer their pension funds.
• claims were also made about the companies offering a range of investment products and ‘unbiased advice’ despite the only product actively promoted being unregulated investments in storage units which the companies had a vested interest in promoting due to the way in which they were funded.
• claims were made that a strict due diligence process was followed but there was no evidence that independent checks were carried out meaning so called ‘guaranteed’ returns were not received by pension members.

His ban was effective from 27 October 2016 and lasts for 9 years.

Disqualifications

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Contact Press Office

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

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The Commission opened a statutory inquiry into the charity on 16 April 2018 to look into a number of concerns including the use of the charity’s premises to support or condone terrorism.

The investigation was opened following the conviction of the charity’s Imam for six counts of encouragement of terrorism, and two counts of encouraging support for a proscribed organisation. The Commission also had concerns regarding the management and administration of the charity by its trustees and their failure to evidence their compliance with the charity’s governing document and other charity law duties.

As a result the Commission made an order, on 7 August 2018, under section 76(3)(g) of the Charities Act 2011 to appoint Jonathan Burchfield of Stone King LLP as interim manager of the charity. The interim manager has taken over the management and administration of the charity to the exclusion of the charity’s trustees.

The Commission’s investigation continues.

Notes to Editors

1. This appointment is a temporary and protective power that will be reviewed at regular intervals. It will continue until the Charity Commission makes a further Order varying or discharging it.
2. It is the Charity Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.
3. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. For more information see the about us page on GOV.UK.

In his first major Commonwealth event since becoming Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt hosted a reception for the 52 Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York on 25 September 2018.

Mr Hunt welcomed progress by Commonwealth countries on the commitments they made at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in April.

Since CHOGM, the UK and Kenya have hosted the Global Disability Summit; Vanuatu became the first country in the world to enact a ban on a range of single-use plastics, with other states including India following suit; the Commonwealth SheTrades programme has launched in Ghana, Kenya, Bangladesh and Nigeria, with over 1300 women entrepreneurs now registered.

The Foreign Secretary also announced a £1.8m UK contribution to the Commonwealth’s electoral observation programme.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, said:

The Commonwealth is responding to the global challenges of today, from climate change to economic protectionism.

Five months on from the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London, the 53 countries of the Commonwealth are taking forward real action on their commitments to a fairer, more secure, more sustainable and prosperous future.

The Commonwealth is a unique organisation and a champion for the rules-based international system – but it must be seen to deliver, and then keep delivering.

The Foreign Secretary also chaired a Commonwealth Foreign Ministers meeting, where discussion included progress on the Commonwealth Blue Charter; increasing intra-Commonwealth trade; addressing cyber security threats, and reform of the Commonwealth Secretariat to ensure it is efficient and delivering for its member states.

Further information

• Follow the Foreign Secretary on Twitter @Jeremy_Hunt
• Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook
• Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn

Paul Gilhooley (48) from Tranent, East Lothian, was the sole director of Paul Gilhooley Consultancy Ltd. The consultancy was incorporated in May 2014, with registered offices in Dublin Street, Edinburgh.

However, the consultancy entered into a difficult trading period and was advised to enter into a Creditor Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) in June 2017, after Paul Gilhooley Consultancy had ceased trading.

In a CVL, insolvency practitioners are appointed to manage the winding up of the company and require full co-operation from the directors. Despite numerous requests, however, Paul Gilhooley failed to deliver any accounting records to the insolvency practitioners.

As a result, the insolvency practitioners could not determine from June 2016 what the consultancy had been doing, the exact reasons for the insolvency or the level of payment taken by Paul Gilhooley out of the company.

The administrators were also unable to verify a significant tax debt of just over £207,000 and could not establish the consultancy’s debts, what happened to £14,000 of cash taken from the company’s bank account or verify what happened to the consultancy’s fixed assets.

On 11 September 2018, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Paul Gilhooley, after he admitted that he failed to ensure Paul Gilhooley Consultancy Ltd maintained, preserved and /or delivered up adequate accounting records.

Effective from 2 October 2018, Paul Gilhooley is now banned for 7 years from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Robert Clarke, Head of Company Investigation at the Insolvency Service said:

Directors have a legal duty to maintain proper accounting records and Paul Gilhooley has paid the price for failing to do that as he be banned for a significant amount of time cannot now carry on in business other than at his own risk.

The Insolvency Service will take action against directors who do not take their obligations seriously and abuse their position of trust

Notes to editors

Paul Gilhooley is of Tranent, East Lothian and his date of birth is December 1969

Company Paul Gilhooley Consultancy Ltd (Company Reg no. SC478667).

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. It may also use powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK. In addition, the agency deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Contact Press Office

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube