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complexity. The second scheme must be offered to all employees, not just those of Muslim faith, or risk further discrimination allegations.
The CIPP encourages employers to consider if their processes remain compliant, not just with automatic enrolment, but also with the Equality Act 2010 and conduct additional research where necessary.
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Pair jailed for £13.7 million pension scam Published: 25 April 2022 Emailed: 27 April 2022
Over 200 savers were tricked into transferring their pension savings into fraudulent schemes controlled by Alan Barratt and Susan Dalton. The pair have been jailed for a total of 10 years and banned from acting as company directors for 8 years.
Sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 22 April 2022, the pair pleaded guilty to the charges of fraud by abuse of power. The prosecution was brought by the Pensions Regulator (TPR).
TPR’s case initially included three defendants. The third, Julian Hanson, had their case dropped on 30 March after pleading not guilty. Barratt changed their plea from not guilty to guilty in January and was arrested in Alicante, Spain before being extradited to the UK.
The executive director for frontline regulation at TPR, Nicola Parish, said:
“ In their role as trustees, the pair enabled millions of pounds to be taken from the schemes and channelled offshore, where it was used to enrich others involved in the criminal enterprise and to profit themselves. ”
“ (The) prosecution and substantial custodial sentence sends a clear message that TPR and the courts will take tough action against fraudsters ”
“Our successful extradition of Barratt from Spain also shows there’s no haven for scammers ”.
TPR’s website has a range of useful links, webinars and information to help spot, prevent and report pension scams.
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The Pensions Administration Standards Association pre-employment guidance
Published: 26 April 2022 Emailed: 27 April 2022
The Pension Administration Standards Association (PASA) has released a guidance document detailing some important steps to take to prevent fraud.
The guidance indicates the types of checks that can be undertaken when making a new hire. Fraud can happen at any level of an organisation and administrators should assess the level of risk within different areas of the business. PASA note that there are aware of a situation where individuals deliberately sought employment at a company with the intention to commit fraud.
The guidance covers:
Deciding what the level of risk is
• • •
What information and checks are available?
How to use such information.
However it does note “If you’re unsure of what checks you can legally undertake and what information you can legitimately process as part of your verification process, you should obtain expert legal advice. ” The creators of the guidance, the Cybercrime and Fraud Working Group, work to help administrators protect themselves from fraud and cybercrime by providing guidance and raising awareness.
cipp.org.uk
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