On the go: The Pensions Regulator is taking legal action against a company director for failing to provide it with information – the latest in a string of prosecutions for section 72 breaches.
Michael Woolley, a director and shareholder of Southbank Capital and sole director of PIM Trustees, has been summoned before magistrates in Brighton over his failure to respond to requests for information.
The requests were made as part of an investigation into investments made by Southbank using assets from 16 pension schemes of which PIM was the trustee.
If found guilty, the offence is punishable with an unlimited fine.
The impending court case is the latest in a string of prosecutions by TPR for failing to provide information, which breaches section 72 of the Pensions Act 2004.
Last week a similar case was brought against a businessman running companies in Surrey and Hampshire, while analysis last monthrevealed a striking rise in the number of s72 prosecutions.
Almost 1,000 s72 requests for information about pension scheme funding, administration and legislative compliance have been made by the watchdog since 2010.
The data, released by the regulator last month following a freedom of information request by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, revealed a 133 per cent increase in the number of requests over the five years to June 2019, compared with the previous five year period.
