Our dishonesty assessment
We consider the criminal dishonesty statutory fraud offences (but on a “reasonable grounds for believing” basis – such that our legislation doesn’t require criminal conviction, prosecution or the criminal standard of proof of beyond all reasonable doubt).
Consider the statutory fraud offences. For example:
Conspiracy to defraud (case law):
- Was there an agreement?
- Was the agreement dishonest?
- Were rights prejudiced?
Fraud by abuse of position (section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006):
- Did the accused occupy a position in which they are expected to safeguard the financial interests of another person? For example, a trustee of a pension scheme.
- Did the accused dishonestly abuse that position?
- Did the accused intend to make a gain (for themselves or another) or cause loss or expose another to a risk of loss?
The fraud may be against the member in some cases or against the trustees, or others. It's also possible that trustees, directors of employers and administrators were involved in the fraud.
Consider the scheme asset reductions
Scheme asset reductions are what the scheme has spent or the assets it has transferred elsewhere. For example, it may be a payment to a company regarding a purported investment, commission for an introducer or administrator, or fees and expenses in trying to resolve the issues.
If you’re a member, we’ll want to know what you think happened to your scheme pension (as that should have been an asset of the scheme), and what you think happened that was dishonest.
If you’re a trustee, we’ll be in touch for more detail on the scheme asset reductions (fees and expenses in particular). Consider which scheme asset reductions you think you can link to dishonesty.
The most relevant information
We do not need a list of all possible offences involving dishonesty. We encourage you to:
- build up a picture based on evidence – where’s the dishonesty, and by who?
- consider whether the scheme asset reductions are attributable to a specific offence involving dishonesty, such as a fraud offence
Thinking it through like this should help you streamline your evidence gathering, so that you share the most relevant information with us.