GM Simon Williams has been found liable by the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman in the U.K. and ordered to repay over £730,000 (currently roughly $890k) to a pension scheme of which he was the sole trustee. 

The popular 43-year-old British grandmaster, commentator, and author has been a part of a long-running saga involving a sophisticated “pension liberation scheme,” which, according to the Financial Times, is a scheme set up to exploit a loophole in U.K. tax law that prevents people under 55 years of age withdrawing money from their pension.

On September 22 this year, Williams was found liable as the former sole trustee of Focus Group Administration after an extensive investigation carried out by the Pensions Dishonesty Unit. The final report from the investigation and all case files consist of 130 pages.

The pension scheme was established in 2013, with Williams as the director and shareholder of Focus Administration Limited. Eleven members transferred a total of around £830,000 of pension benefits into the scheme.

The determination was made after two complaints from members who were investing in the fund. One of them said he had lost nearly half of his pension despite having the understanding that his funds would be protected. Another one said he lost his entire pension after not having been given information about the investments.

According to PensionAge, the investments were made with funds in companies that had been incorporated shortly before the investments were made, had been trading at a loss, and/or were companies in which Williams and his associates had an interest in.

PensionAge also stated that the deputy of The Pensions Ombudsman found Williams and the company Focus, which was set up for the purpose, had committed “multiple breaches of trust” and “many acts of maladministration” that severely impacted members’ pensions. It was also determined that the trustees had acted in breach of trust by being in a position of conflicting interests, failing to have in place and operate the necessary internal controls, and failing to have adequate regard for the need for diversification of investments.

In a statement provided to Chess.com, Williams says he does not agree with the findings of the Ombudsman and, therefore, is in the process of an appeal of the determination. Due to that, he cannot fully comment on the matter. He added:

I was not, nor have ever been, involved in any day-to-day administration or decision-making relating to the Focus Administration Pension Scheme. My training in this role was limited to a set of online pension examinations, which I passed. It is painfully clear that this was not sufficient to provide the necessary skills to act as a named trustee.

I did not understand the responsibilities required, nor the nature of the structure of the investment, and was wholly reliant on the guidance and actions of others. The members instructed the investments and actions were undertaken according to their wishes and written disclaimers.

I was offered what I believed to be an opportunity to work in the financial sector by people I trusted during a period of unemployment, and I undertook the role for experience in a new career before I began working in chess content creation full-time.

Williams says no investment funds were in his personal possession and that he had no personal involvement or any related investments. “Unfortunately, one of the investments failed, leading others to also collapse.”

“In my own ignorance and stupidity, I was naive to my responsibilities and fully acknowledge that I was, and continue to be, out of my depth. I am in a state of disbelief that I have found myself and placed others in this situation.”

Williams says he accepts his responsibilities and intends to continue working toward finding a resolution with all affected. He also refers to a statement by his business partner IM Gary Quillan on the English Chess Forum, who says he “takes full responsibility.”

“[…] It is clear that the advice and guidance on the responsibilities and risks of being a trustee, was totally inadequate and failed to take into account many nuances in the legislation,” Quillan’s forum post reads. “I take full responsibility for this. I have apologised to Simon and intend to help him through this extremely difficult situation.”

Simon Williams says he plans to release a further statement after the conclusion of the appeal.