Two pension trustees have appeared in court following allegations that they made prohibited loans from a company pension scheme to the scheme employer.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has alleged that two company directors of Eastman Staples Limited used money from the Eastman Machine Company Limited Superannuation Scheme to make two loans to the Huddersfield-based firm.

The alleged loans were for £100,000 in 2017 and £140,000 in March 2018, and would be in breach of section 40(5) of the Pensions Act 1995.

Each trustee is also facing charges of providing false or misleading information to TPR, with the regulator alleging that it was provided with fabricated documents during the investigation.

Making employer-related loans from a pension scheme is a criminal offence and can potentially lead to an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment, while knowingly providing false information to TPR can result in a fine or up to two years in prison.

Company directors and scheme trustees, Andrew Kyprianou and Colin Werb, appeared before Kirklees Magistrates’ Court on 30 April.

They both plead not guilty to all charges and were bailed to appear before Leeds Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on Friday 28 May.

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