A self-invested personal pension provider (Sipp) has agreed to carry out an independent review of its business practices, including its work with financial advisers.
STM Gibraltar, part of the Aim-listed STM group, agreed to let accountancy firm Deloitte review certain aspects of its business, including internal compliance, corporate governance and conflicts of interest across the Gibraltar-based business.
In a note to the stock exchange yesterday (17 January), STM stated the review would also cover specific areas of the pensions and life assurance business, specifically in relation to take-on and monitoring procedures for intermediaries, as well as investments advised by intermediaries.
The provider had initially fought off attempts by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission to investigate the business with a hearing on the matter scheduled for Monday (22 January) before the Gibraltar Supreme Court.
This hearing has now been cancelled, the group, which also owns UK-based Sipp firm London & Colonial, stated.
The skilled person report, which is the equivalent to a Section 166 report under UK legislation, is expected to be finalised by 31 March and will include recommendations where appropriate.
Alan Kentish, chief executive of STM Group, said: "It is pleasing that the Gibraltar subsidiaries have been able to come to a workable solution with the Gibraltar regulator, rather than pursuing their case through the courts which, at the end of the day, is in neither party's interest.
“We look forward to working with Deloitte and the GFSC."
Mr Kentish had been arrested in Gibraltar in October over allegations of a failure to disclose information over a tax dispute involving a client.
But he was later released without charge and an application for judicial review against the Royal Gibraltar Police was filed to the Supreme Court.
At the time of Mr Kentish's arrest, STM said one of its clients had been involved in a dispute between two countries, between 2008 to 2013, over their respective rights to the taxes paid by him.
Until it was clear that the issue was a tax dispute, Mr Kentish followed compliance procedures in filing two relevant suspicious activity reports, which were externalised to the Gibraltar Financial Intelligence Unit, the company stated at the time.
STM has administrative offices in the UK, Malta, Jersey, Spain and Gibraltar, with its head office based in Gibraltar but it is currently reviewing the location of its head office, given its operational requirements.
carmen.reichman@ft.com
