Adviser and his wife convicted of £1.7m property fraud
A “heartless” adviser and his wife have been found guilty of swindling people out of £1.7m (€1.9m, $2.1m) after the longest trial in UK criminal history.
Tax & Regulation
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Indonesia grants taxman new powers in emergency action
The president of Indonesia has signed emergency regulation giving the tax authority access to account information held by financial institutions months after $333bn in assets was disclosed under the country’s hugely successful amnesty programme.
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Adviser in court for investing £1.2m in Polish property fund
A former financial adviser in the UK has denied forging clients’ signatures so he could invest £1.26m (€1.47m, $1.62m) of their money into a high-risk Polish property fund for his own benefit.
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Labour unveils new top rate of 50% on earnings over £123k
Britain’s opposition Labour Party has set out plans to increase income tax to 45% for those earning over £80,000 (€94,265, $103,242) and introduce a new 50% rate on earnings over £123,000.
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40% of entrepreneurs prefer lifetime gifting in estate planning
Two fifths of business owners and entrepreneurs are pursuing a “giving while living” approach when it comes to estate planning, according to a new report by RBC Wealth Management, creating the “biggest opportunity” for financial advisers.
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DeVere appeals South Africa court ruling on ex-manager payoff
DeVere Investments has appealed a court ruling that it must pay ZAR3.7m (£217,380, $280,535, €256,142) in outstanding commission, notice paid and an unpaid portion of a bonus to an area manager it fired.
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UK pension fraud hits record high
Twenty-four victims of pension fraud lost a record £8.6m ($11.1m, €10.1m) in March 2017, a 10-fold increase from the previous month, figures from the City of London police reveal.
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Gibraltar firm fined and directors banned over pension schemes
A Gibraltar financial services firm with links to the Panama Papers has been fined and had two of its directors banned for providing trustee services to pension schemes despite having been denied permission to do so by the regulator.
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Labour’s 17-point tax avoidance clampdown plan
As voting day for the UK general election rapidly approaches, the Labour party has spelled out a wide-ranging 17-point plan to tackle tax avoidance and public filing of the tax returns of wealthy individuals earning more than £1m.
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Four arrested in connection with Guernsey’s Providence funds
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of fraud as part of the ongoing investigation into the collapsed Guernsey-based Providence Investment Fund that saw some investors lose their life savings.
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Barclays fined $97m for overcharging advice clients in US
Barclays has agreed to pay more than $97m (£74.9m, €89.2m) to refund advice and mutual fund sales fees to US clients who were charged for services they did not receive.
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How to earn up to £140,000 of tax savings by 2020
Now that the start button for the phased introduction of the nil rate residential band has been pressed, John Haley, technical sales manager at Utmost Wealth Solutions, explains that there are “many holes to leap through” to achieve the biggest outcome.