The former president of the Association of Taxation Technicians Andrew Meeson and three of his business associates have been charged today with stealing £5m through tax fraud targeting the pension industry.

Mr Meeson of 12 George St, Wolverhampton, Peter Spencer Bradley of The Forge, Springhill Lane, Wolverhampton, Alison Jayne Bradley of The Forge, Springhill Lane, Wolverhampton and Steven Price from Pine Tops, Pratts Lane, Studley were charged at Birmingham Magistrates Court with conspiracy to cheat the revenue.

The four, who administered a pension scheme, were arrested in dawn raids last year by HM Revenue and Customs who were investigating an alleged multi-million pound fraud.

The business they worked at, Tudor Capital Management, was also suspended from acting as trustees from pension trust schemes.

Simon De Kayne, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, said: “Today four people have been charged linked to what we believe is a fraud resulting in over £5m being stolen from public funds. We are committed to bring such cases to the courts and depriving those involved of the proceeds of their crime.”