De Vere and Partners published the report on its website on Wednesday. However, the source of the claim was not given and International Adviser has so far been unable to contact de Vere to obtain more information or corroborate or disprove the story.
HMRC neither confirmed nor denied the report but schemes based in Hong Kong continue to feature on the list of approved QROPS on its website.
A spokesman said: “We cannot comment on individual schemes.” He added that if anyone had placed money in an apparently legitimate QROPS which was subsequently discovered not to meet HMRC’s criteria they may face unauthorised payment charges.
A Hong Kong based source – a senior figure in an offshore life company – questioned the veracity of de Vere’s report, noting a scheme launched by a firm called Lutea was signed off in the past couple of months after: “A very lengthy dialogue with HMRC.”
International Adviser continues to investigate the story and will report further when more information comes to light.
