The Pensions Regulator is prosecuting an accountant for falsely claiming that the business he was working for had enrolled its staff into an occupational pension. It is the first time that the regulator has charged a third party for this offence.
Hashmukh Shah has been charged with knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information to the regulator. The 63-year-old from Richmond in Surrey was working on behalf of London cafe Gran Caffe Londra, which is operated by Primadell Ltd.
The regulator has accused Shah of declaring that cafe staff had been enrolled into an occupational scheme despite knowing this to be untrue.
The watchdog claims that it was misled by Shah in order to prevent it from discovering the employer’s failure to automatically enrol its staff into a scheme.
Intentionally providing false information with regards to a company’s compliance with auto-enrolment is an offence under section 80 of the Pensions Act 2004.
Shah will appear at Brighton Magistrates Court on August 15 2018.
