SOME DAYS… WARNING TO THOSE RETURNING TO THE NHS

TODAY’S BLOG

SOME DAYS – WARNING TO THOSE RETURNING TO THE NHS

There are days when my heart sinks, today was one of those days. I came across a warning from HMRC about a scam being directed at people returning to work in the NHS to help in the fight against COVID-19. It is always depressing when crooks and lowlifes take advantage of others, but particularly so when they take advantage of those that are trying to quite literally save lives.

I better not add any more as it certainly would not convey a professional image, let’s leave it at “it makes me very angry”. So if you are returning to work in the NHS or know someone that is, please warn them not to sign documents without reading them and to have a look at this notice on the Government website.

Long story short – this is about a tax avoidance scheme, which will not work and likely to financially harm those that participate in it.

The link to the Government notice and website is here.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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SOME DAYS… WARNING TO THOSE RETURNING TO THE NHSDominic2025-01-21T16:04:35+00:00

YOUR ‘UMBLE SERVANT..

TODAY’S BLOG

YOUR ‘UMBLE SERVANT…

We are regularly looking for new clients that are looking for the services that we provide. I often forget just how daunting an experience this can be for people. Invariably they have had a poor service from someone else, or worse. Some, though relatively few, have never had financial advice of any form.

I was with a new potential client this week, it was a familiar scene. There were lots of statements from various investment companies, lots of bank accounts and a significant amount of confusion. This was no fault of theirs, keeping track of all of your arrangements is made rather difficult by the constant corporate name changes and jargon.

Revealing your story

Every good adviser needs to understand your financial situation and what you hope to achieve. Gathering information from people is painful, because it’s a really tedious task and for many it involves trawling through a mass of paperwork and a sinking feeling that things may not be as good as hoped and unclear about which investment and savings still exist. It is far easier to give the lot to us to sort out and check through, but this requires a high degree of trust. I would generally discourage anyone from sharing or handing over their financial information, but of course to us it is “bread and butter”. Generally, I believe that trust is increased by earning it, by which I mean keeping promises – not by ripping people off.

Pariah Uriah

I was intrigued to see how one of literature’s financial fraudsters, Uriah Heep would fair under the retelling of “David Copperfield”. If you know the Dickens story, Uriah Heep is a man obsessed with class, attempting to ascend the slippery social pole through manipulation and deceit. He is a miserable creature, as legal clerk to Mr Wickfield he enables Wickfield’s struggle with alcoholism, encouraging ever more intoxication and thus more dependency on him. Gradually Heep’s ambitious plan forms into action, he forges signatures and loans and embezzles money from Wickfield and his clients. This leads both Wickfield and his clients to believe they are ruined through poor investments.

Working fiction

One would like to believe that this is a rather pertinent financial lesson – beware of the pressures on your adviser and his or her vices. Today it is both harder and easier to misrepresent the truth. Online portals that link up your arrangements (such as ours) show valuations, every day. These are from the providers themselves, so it would be very difficult for us to alter them. However, I have no doubt that with the advantages of a decent bit of editing software, things could be misrepresented by those that wish to do so. Whilst I might wish to believe our portal is your first port of call, it also acts as confirmation of other documentation sent directly from investment companies (further reassurance).

Who knows what Uriah Heep would have done with the available technology today. Thankfully character and processes and decent regulation all help limit the impact of such fraud.

A Story is not set in stone

As for the film, well I loved it. It isn’t the book. The timeline is a little different but it is a charming and very warm re-imagining of the story. Of course, the way we might discuss your future, we tend to jump around from present, past and future and re-imagine different versions of your future if you make different decisions. So messing around with a timeline if frankly very normal for a planner. I was surprised to learn that some feel it is very “unlike the book” and are particularly vexed by the multi-ethnic cast. It seems a more than a little silly to want historical accuracy about a fictional piece when it comes to skin tone. In any event, much of our understanding of multiculturalism is rather blinkered by the retelling of history from a particular perspective. I fail to see what the fuss is about and find many of the comments rather thoughtless. In any event, the essence of the story is about different types of people from the different classes. There are merits and flaws in each.

DIVERSE-I-FIC(A)TION

As for your portfolio, well its diverse – globally diverse. Its available to view within our secure portal and you ought to check it occasionally just to know that what I have told you is fair, accurate and true – that we have kept our promises.

That’s said, I would actively discourage too much focus on investments, there is no need to obsess over performance when the portfolio has been established to stand the test of time, apply disciplined, evidenced theory to seek appropriate returns for the degree of investment risk you wish to endure. The portfolio is low cost, globally diverse and set up to last a lifetime. You simply require patience and perseverance.

As for Uriah Heep, he is found in most bookshops and of course in the current film by Armando Iannucci and starring Dev Patel (who is excellent) leads the rather good good. Here is the trailer. I enjoyed the movie – pushing 9/10.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
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YOUR ‘UMBLE SERVANT..Dominic2025-01-28T10:08:04+00:00

THE WRONG KIND OF GREEN

TODAY’S BLOG

THE WRONG KIND OF GREEN

I appreciate that we are now in the throes of an election campaign, I am not referring to the Green Party. You may think that I’m also about to embark on another piece about the green stuff we all know as money and how quantitative easing (QE) hasn’t worked for the right people, merely inflated markets and the balance sheets of the richest. Frances Coppola has a very good book on this topic (“The People’s Case for Quantitative Easing”).

Today is Halloween 2019. It was only a few days ago that Good Money Week concluded. This is a noble attempt to broaden the knowledge of investors about sustainable and ethical investments, these days called ESG investing.

Failing to understand the investment world whilst holding cash in a miserly deposit accounts and having a heart to do good makes for a dangerous mix. Green or ethical investment is mainstream these days. We have always offered ethical investment screening and I have recently reviewed selections within our portfolios, making some changes. As mentioned, I was also challenged to have ESG as the default portfolio for clients, having an opt out rather than an opt in approach.

Life savings gone

About a year ago a friend of a friend got in touch about an investment that she had made. She had invested all her life savings into what she thought was a fund that invested in renewable energy. Sadly, it was a scam and scams require the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to get involved.

Seeing the wood for the trees

Today a similar story reached my desk. Yesterday the SFO made an arrest at Gatwick airport of one Omari Bowers who together with Andrew Skeene was a Director of Global Forestry Investments (GFI). The SFO have been investigating them and their company for alleged frauds between August 2010 and December 2015. According to the report Bowers has failed to attend two Court appearances over the summer. On Monday Mr Skeene appeared at Southwark Crown Court where he has been charged with three offences of conspiracy to defraud, four counts of forgery and one of misconduct in the course of winding up.

GFI had been promoted as a safe, ethical investment in Brazilian teak plantations, with investors offered to buy land and harvest steady profits. Now pause. Read that again. Think of what we “know” about the trees in Brazil.

Cutting it down to size…

Maria Thedoulou of law firm Stokoe writes “GFI was one of two schemes run by the former directors promoting two teak investment schemes in Brazil. The Insolvency Service found GFI received £20,146,631 from the sale of plots in the Belem Sky Project and £3,863,185 from plots sold in the Para Sky Project. In respect of Belem Sky, investors were offered the chance to invest a minimum of £5,000 in the teak plantation for promised returns of “10-20%” per annum. While investors who contributed to the £24 million plus pot in fact saw little or no returns, over £13 million arising from the sale of the plots went into the bank accounts of Bowers and Skeene.”

How can rogues access your funds?

I’m sure that you will appreciate that there are rogues “out there” attempting to part you from your money. In practice the UK is tightly regulated, so by and large it isn’t easy to buy a scam investment, though adverts of Facebook and the internet generally make this possible. Most scams of this nature are done through your pension – a SIPP. Eh? Don’t I have one of those? Well probably if you are a client of ours. In the same way that you probably own a car. There is nothing wrong with a SIPP, its simply a self-invested personal pension. When used properly it is a brilliant pension. If you fill it with dross (because you can) then it will turn toxic on you very quickly. The same being true of attempting to fill your car up with chocolate. It won’t work. Yet there are “advisers” (for which I mean liars and con men) that will not only assist but promote such ludicrous schemes. One such advisory firm being “Emerald Knight” – do google them. This stuff is awful. People like Angela Brooks will be a source of some comfort as she continues to fight the good fight against these sorts of scams, which happen all the time (Angela appears in our magazine Spotlight- October 2019).

Hard wood, soft wood – would that it were so simple

I understand that the stock market may be confusing and perhaps scary. Companies go bust, we regularly hear about billions being wiped off the markets. Yet the truth is rather different. You never, ever hear “billions were wiped onto the markets today”. You rarely hear that these are actual businesses, employing people and solving problems. You simply hear about those that dodge tax. If you buy a market tracking type of fund, you own all of the companies, “good” and “bad”. These are traded in highly regulated markets every second of the day. Market fraud leads to prison. Certainly investing is not for everyone. If you have enough money in the bank to provide you with all your needs, allowing for inflation until your death, you probably do not need to invest. The rest of us do. Get proper advice about how to do this. You can apply ethical / SRI or ESG criteria to your investments, but above all use an adviser that is not promoting dross and saying things you want to hear, but deep down there are alarm bells ringing that something is desperately wrong.

If you know someone that is comtemplating investing in this sort of stuff or has mentioned “a great investment opportunity” to you please tread carefully, give them my details and tell them to get in touch before their investments go up in a cloud of smoke.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

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THE WRONG KIND OF GREENDominic2023-12-01T12:17:08+00:00

WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A CROWD…

TODAY’S BLOG

WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A CROWD…

Making a Will is a vital and basic part of financial planning. However, you need to think carefully about who you select to be the Executor (the person responsible for ensuring the Will is properly implemented). Sadly, Anita Border’s choice of her neighbour wasn’t a good choice.

Anita died in 2015 and her Will names two beneficiaries. However neither of these received a penny as the nominated Executor, one Mrs David Loveday used the proceeds of the estate to buy himself a new car, some holidays and settle some of his debts. The Court case T20190613 at Woolwich Crown Court saw Mr Loveday plead guilty to fraud by failing to transfer funds to Mrs Gibbs, one of the beneficiaries. Whilst sentencing will happen in November, Judge David Miller has stated that it is likely that Mr Loveday will serve time in prison.

THREE’S COMPANY

Thankfully you do not have to appoint a random neighbour to be an Executor, you can select anyone you wish. I always suggest having three to ensure a majority decision can be taken should the need arise. I am also pleased to report that Alexandra Truesdale has written a piece on this very subject for our latest Spotlight magazine, which should be with you very shortly, if not already.

Constructing a Will can be complicated due to complex families. It can also be straight-forward for, you guessed it, straight-forward ones. Understanding what is important and what is essential is the skill of a solicitor and not something that you should ever leave to chance or a knock off do-it-yourself Will.

Check Spotlight October 2019 for more information. Alex can be found here.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084

7 QUESTIONS, NO WAFFLE

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GET IN TOUCH

Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Mill Cobham Park Road, COBHAM Surrey, KT11 3NE

Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084

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WHERE THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A CROWD…Dominic2025-01-21T15:48:29+00:00

MONEY OFFERS OPPORTUNITY

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MONEY OFFERS OPPORTUNITY

For some people the answer to almost any question is money. Whilst I would not underestimate its power, money is simply a method of exchange. In the most part having money means having choices and more opportunities. This doesn’t mean that those without it have no choices or no opportunities, but quite obviously they are much more limited.

Money is the oil in a system to get things done. However as is also pretty evident, possessing a lot of wealth does not really mean that more opportunities are taken, indeed choices might appear to become more limited, falling into social expectations about what to buy, possess, retain whilst protecting with ever more complex security.

SOLOMONS IFA REVIEW BLOG BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE

CRIMINAL INTENT

There are always those that are willing to extract your money from you. This week I had yet another person confide in me that they were victims of a financial scam and felt too ashamed or embarrassed to admit it to others. Most of us, of course, work hard for our earnings, we don’t steel of kill for it. That said, one of the myths that I grew up with was that hard work pays. This is quite obviously not true. Plenty of people work hard or long hours and are not well paid, existing just above the bread-line, hence the need to work long hours. There are others that simply work in a way that by no measure appears “hard” yet are rewarded or remunerated very handsomely. This is of course simply another of life’s “welcome to adulthood” lessons.

DESPERATE TIMES AND DESPERATE MEASURES

Those with very few opportunities, that possess the right skills at the right time can have their lives improved enormously by some helpful cash. One of the few common agreements about the Chancellor’s Budget is an unsaid one… we all would like to keep or get a bit more.

Take Darlene Sweet, a singer is living hand to mouth, gig-to-gig, struggling to get by and desperate for a moment, a lucky break. It’s all about the books you read, the places you visit and the people you meet… right? Well for Darlene, she happened to check into a hotel (the El Royale) near Lake Tahoe, on the border with Nevada and California… but the other guests, staff and hotel are not all that they appear to be.

The latest movie “Bad Times at the El Royale” by director Drew Goddard plays with our sense of security, individuality and ability to adapt to new information. What people will do to protect their own interests, how they respond to extortion and how easily manipulated most of us are. A bad night for the guests, made worse with the arrival of Billy Lee, a knock off of Charles Manson, duping followers with half-truths about money, power and corruption, explaining choice whilst amassing greater wealth and abusing the power he has over those that trust him. The proverbial thief in the night…

Here’s the trailer for the new movie. There was a fair bit of disagreement within my family about whether the movie is any good, I found it quite gripping and delightfully shot – with scenes reminiscent of Nighthawks by Hopper. My daughter however felt it dragged, the acting was poor and the entire thing overly simplistic…

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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MONEY OFFERS OPPORTUNITYDominic2023-12-01T12:17:42+00:00

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

One of the movies that I enjoyed at the BFI London Film Festival was “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”. You may remember the story about an American biography writer who, was a fairly difficult person to be around. Most of us are aware of the difficulties in earning a living as a writer. Some do exceedingly well, most struggle to repeat the success of one or two notable works.

Lee Israel is one such author, having published a couple of biographies, writers block or creative inertia sets in. Inevitably the reality of paying bills becomes increasingly harder. Her management of stress (or lack of) resulted in having nobody to turn to for comfort or encouragement. Aside from a cat, social connections are as sparse as the flow of words on the blank page that stares back at her. She happens upon Jack Hock, (Richard E Grant) an Englishman surfing the bars and streets of New York. He becomes her only confidant and accomplice.

Solomons IFA review Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Finders Keepers?

Opportunity presents itself whilst doing research, she finds a letter hidden within the pages of a library book. Hoping nobody has noticed and applying “finders-keepers” she takes it. The letter is sold to pay her rent. The idea takes hold that personalised letters from deceased authors and actors are collectable. Israel has a genuine talent for understanding character and replicating their voice. She sets about forging letters and selling them to dealers, who invariably lack the motivation to have the letters authenticated. They appear to be what they probably could not be, yet money changes hands, because money talks. This eventually evolves into stealing genuine letters and replacing them with forgeries.

Research and Evidence

Eventually the FBI close in on Israel, hence how her story is known. There is little to suggest that this is a criminal mastermind or indeed a particularly tenacious investigation by the FBI, who seem sufficiently inept as to tip her off that they will be examining her apartment, enabling Israel to dispose of all evidence of her wrongdoing.

Financial Fraud

You may have a perspective on this sort of criminal act, forgery. Yet again, this is an example of what people will do under the wrong pressures. However, it is also evident that people are often persuaded by appearances and rarely look beneath. This is particularly pertinent in most financial fraud. The temptation of market beating returns or guarantees, when a closer inspection will reveal something altogether different. The regulator does its best to prevent financial fraud, but of course this is all part of the human condition, to play upon the duplicity or naivety of others. Fraud is something that we are constantly checking, but many are duped. As we are now in the season of keeping warm inside, if you or your friends are discussing the latest fantastic offering, please remember this – and ask for proper, regulated advice.

I enjoyed the movie, which stars Melissa McCarthy providing a really sharp portrayal of Lee Israel and Richard E Grant as Jack Hock. Here is the trailer.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?Dominic2025-01-28T10:08:07+00:00

KING OF THIEVES

King of Thieves

The movie world is full of theft and deception at the moment, perhaps this is symptomatic of the current state of global politics. This movie, The King of Thieves is yet another film about a real event. This time the Hatton Garden robbery during Easter 2015. You may recall the news items that showed clips of some rather concerned customers who feared and claimed to have lost millions in a robbery that was committed over the Easter weekend, when everyone was on holiday. The initial view was that the crime was perpetrated by a well-organised international gang of jewel thieves. In practice, it was some experience burglars, who were some significant way into their “retirement” and even went to the scene using their own pensioner bus pass.

The casting for the film has been done very thoughtfully. We all know the actors and probably have a fond or favourable attitude towards them, yet these are essentially villains that would do some serious harm to anyone in their way, each other and would not spare much mercy. Old does not mean nice or kind. It just means old.

Solomons Independent financial advisers london

Lack of Purpose

The sadness about this story is that there is a palpable sense that these men knew little else and believed that it was their purpose, to be thieves gave them meaning and significance. It certainly gave them a tribe. There is a sequence when they are all recalling how they got into crime – invariably it was stealing food, which of course is indicative of their outlook and circumstances. Perhaps had this not been so, their lives may have been rather different.

Keep up with Technology

The film follows the frankly unbelievable ease with which the robbery was performed. Yet despite being a movie, this is the reality. Security systems at Hatton Gardens were woefully out of date much like the criminals who really failed to appreciate the power of CCTV, mobile phones and a Police Force that knows its stuff. Their open dialogue in public settings may be simply an overconfidence or a lapse of concentration, but surely desperately foolish.

Honour among Thieves

The bickering, infighting and back-stabbing implied that honour amongst thieves is probably a very exaggerated claim. They all steal from each other and it is only when caught that they come together again to present some basic form of a united front. Who you select to work with is perhaps a key lesson, as indeed is having a well thought plan, that allows for interruption and frustration.

Given that the men pleaded guilty, but most of the money has never been recovered, the accuracy of the character portrayals is naturally questionable, perhaps for dramatic reasons, perhaps because the truth, when it comes to criminals, is as slippery as “Billy the Fish” the hapless fence, Billy Lincoln played by Michael Gambon. It would seem that only Brian Reader (Michael Caine) understood the value of diamonds and knew a gem from junk. Terry Perkins (Jim Broadbent) supposedly a great wing-man to Reader was little more than a bully (if the portrayal is fair) and Carl Wood (Paul Whitehouse) would seem to be an unwilling participant at worst. Danny Jones (Ray Winstone) was the sharpest operator, but seemed innumerate and failed to count the money and Kenny Collins (Tom Courtenay) seemed to spin a story to suit the listener.

Fair Cop

The Police did a pretty impressive job, arresting Reader within 5 weeks of the crime. Before a year had passed the team was convicted and imprisoned. Crime does not pay… well perhaps it does, hardly any of the claimed £200m has been recovered, but as Reader warned, many of the deposits were held by other criminals. The truth may never be known. As for your investments and savings, who you trust and where you place your money is vital to understand. There are still many cases of financial fraud and theft. Would that it were not so.

Here is the trailer…

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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KING OF THIEVESDominic2025-01-21T15:56:42+00:00

Ocean’s Eight

It is an odd thing that we have an affection for certain types of criminals. Those brought to life within a film invariably are the anti-hero. “The Italian Job” or the “Lavender Hill Mob” both hold an almost iconic cultural reference point. Ocean’s Eight is essentially a criminal gang of women, who steal. I’m not sure what the appeal really is, but it is undeniable. Perhaps there is something buried in childhood stories about Robin Hood, which leaves us marvelling the execution of a fantastic plan to outwit and outmanoeuvre authority.

The opening sequences of Oceans Eight may provide some insight. It is perhaps the force of brazen confidence that enable Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) to take advantage of the unsuspecting. Frankly, this sequence ought to be shown to every retail employee as an example of what to observe and I have to admit to being a little concerned that it gives thieves more ideas.

The Double Bluff

Perhaps there is the sense in these films that somehow a balance is being restored in a rather Robin Hood-esque way. I’m sure that there are many examples where this might be the case, but the darker reality is that perhaps, we are all a little enamoured by the criminal mind and but for the consequences, fancy ourselves as a mastermind of bluff and double bluff that has a payoff. Perhaps it intrigues, because we don’t live our lives that way and for good reason.

Where is the promised Cold Calling Ban?

The financial world is full of scams, often by clever people, sometimes just by the downright brazen. As a victim the consequences are very real, having identity stolen or pretty much all your life savings. These are the reasons why we have laws and regulation. Yet it occurs on a massive scale every day. We all need to be vigilant and I am angered by yet further delays to the introduction of the Cold Calling Ban by the Government. I appreciate that Brexit is currently taking resources, but meanwhile criminals are stealing from pension funds and so on. Whilst often we are told “it’s not personal” having your home, bank account or pension fund broken into by a thief feels very personal indeed.

We are complex beings, both victim and perpetrator, but mainly neither. The traditional financial services industry calls this fear and greed, aligning its material accordingly. The job of a fiduciary, such as a financial planner, is to help spot these incidents and to avoid them. There are often not obvious indications and often the best place to hide a lie is in plain sight, between two truths.

As for the new film, I really enjoyed it. I think it is because of the clever planning and skill on display, but actually it probably helps satisfy my darker side. Here is the trailer.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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Ocean’s EightDominic2023-12-01T12:17:59+00:00

Not So Keystone Cops

Not so Keystone Cops

The danger of watching videos on social media or indeed many films or TV shows is that you can easily form the impression that the Police are fumbling in the dark without much of a clue. Whilst errors or judgement and malpractice are often correctly brought to light, it is rather foolish to assume that this is indicative of the majority.

It would appear that Abid Hussain was under the illusion that the Police were simply not up to the task of catching him for the crimes he committed – namely money laundering and fraud (at the least). Mr Hussain contacted the police in May 2016 claiming that a property that he owned in Acton had been sold without his knowledge or permission for £480,000. The case quickly landed on the desk of officers from the Complex Fraud Squad (FALCON).

The Backfire

The Police soon established the truth, that in fact Mr Hussain had sold the property through a legitimate, albeit complex process. Perhaps hoping to create a web of intrigue, Mr Hussain then told the Police that he had received £770,000 into a bank account, which bore his name, but of which he had no knowledge. However, this was money from a re-mortgage on another property that he owned – that he had initiated (which he had denied in an attempt to further deceive the lender). CCTV evidence of Mr Hussain meeting a solicitor to sign the paperwork was used to disprove his version of events.

Money Bags

It also transpired that CCTV was also used to confirm that he used some of the money that he took from the sale and mortgage to buy a reasonably heavy 15kg of gold bullion, (20kg is the typical airline hold baggage allowance) which it is alleged he took with him to Pakistan shortly thereafter. Having been arrested in the summer of 2016 he was found guilty and finally sentenced on Friday to 5 years and 9 months in prison. The investigation into what happened to the gold bullion continues.

In essence, Mr Hussain has provided a false witness statement to the Police (who presumably he believed to be inept) and then reported transactions as fraudulent (when they weren’t) in order to make them void and leave the property company and lender at a loss. Long story short – he blew the whistle on himself, assuming that the UK police were more Keystone Cops than Sherlock Holmes. So congratulations to DC Richard Kirk who led the investigation of the £1.25m fraud… probably rather elementary.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

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Not So Keystone CopsDominic2023-12-01T12:18:25+00:00

Don Juan in Soho

There’s a new old play in town. Don Juan in Soho. New in the sense that it is essentially an update on Moliere’s “Dom Juan” and “Don Giovanni” making ample references to the opera by Mozart including the Commendatore. Yet despite many quintessential English traits, “Johnny in Soho” doesn’t really capture the imagination quite as well.

This is of course a morality tale and how Don Juan (played by David Tennant) eventually receives his dues. I presume that a spoiler alert on a rather old story is unnecessary. His faithful servant Leporello, (now renamed Stan, and played by Adrian Scarborough) bears witness to a life of womanizing on a par only rivaled by, well… Casanova… perhaps! Despite being the time of Tinder, it is hard to conceive how many have been so taken in by so few. Indeed whilst the material may differ, a glance around the political world might lead one to conclude that the those that “seduce” or manipulate and deceive are some distance from the gaze of the Commendatore.

The New Honesty?

In reality this new play that first aired over 10 years ago in 2006 at the Donmar. The main difference with Don Giovanni is that, here, Patrick Marber attempts to pose Don Juan as definitively honest. He doesn’t hold him out as a liar, but a man who understands who he is and what he wants, making no apology for his choices and the havoc that befalls his victims.

Beware Men in Suits

It made me wonder how many Don Juan’s I may have met without realizing and then it occurred to me that smart suits, seductive smiles and self-interested manipulation have been the reason why the industry in which I work has a problem with trust, given the catalogued experiences.

Empty Promises

It is with a great deal of frustration that I continue to come across further evidence that the financial services industry continues to attract the Don Juan’s of our time. These offer alluring promises of guarantees, high returns or some hair-brained way to avoid tax… assailing their victims with the tone of certainty, a whiff of greed, a lethal concoction of jargon and the paralyzing drug of fear. The result is predictably similar for Don Juan, absconding so promptly that he rarely witnesses the real results of his “charms”. Sadly, few seem to be caught by either the regulator or the Police as they disappear into the filing cabinet of “hard to catch”.

Top Drawer Performance

The performances of David Tennant, Adrian Scarborough and Gawn Grainger are likely to bring many to their feet, yet the characters they reveal are pretty despicable. In the real world, where life savings are lost to the unscrupulous, the feelings towards them are of course rather different. Indeed, more murderous feelings are evoked, much like those evoked in Aloysius as his family is “ruined”.

If you get along to the play, be warned of its adult content. It runs at Wyndham’s Theatre until 10th June 2017. Click here for ticket information.

Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

Email me to get in touch

Don Juan in SohoDominic2025-01-28T13:29:10+00:00