Sean Browes: This has seen positive results where other, more traditional member tracing options have failed.
Dalriada Trustees has partnered with AI tracing specialist Heka to locate previously untraceable victims of pension scheme fraud.
The partnership comes after Dalriada was appointed by The Pensions Regulator to gain an understanding of how three pension schemes were set up and run – the Brookes Retirement Benefits Scheme, Capri Holdings Retirement Benefits Scheme and Carney Retirement Benefits Scheme.
Since its appointment, Dalriada received confirmation that the schemes are eligible to receive compensation after the Fraud Compensation Fund (FCF) established that the members suffered material loss resulting from fraud or dishonesty. Dalriada has been working to engage the membership - a task made harder by the particularly poor state of the member records it inherited.
As a result, Dalriada engaged Heka to complete a contact details, life status and next-of-kin analysis for previously untraceable victims for one of the schemes which it was able to complete in under two weeks. Work is now commencing for the other two schemes.
Heka said extensive AI searching capabilities, coupled with sophisticated cross-verification techniques, allowed it to identify high-precision results, despite the lack of available member records.
Dalriada professional trustee Sean Browes said: "The lack of proper member records has meant Dalriada has been unable to trace or even, in some cases, identify members. This has meant we have been unable to allow those members access to their benefits, after the award of compensation from the FCF.
"This has been very frustrating, and Dalriada has welcomed the work done by Heka to date, which has enabled us to get in contact with some members we were previously unable to. The techniques employed by Heka are innovative and this has seen positive results where other, more traditional member tracing options have failed."
Heka business development manager Max Lack added: "Using our technology to help deliver compensation to fraud victims is especially worthwhile. Situations involving fraud typically give rise to the most difficult tracing challenges, and the trustees have been doing a fantastic job with very limited records. It is gratifying to see the difference our AI tracing tools make in these complex scenarios."
The FCF is run by the board of the Pension Protection Fund and works to ensure occupational pension schemes which are victims of fraud receive appropriate compensation. The trustees can then secure benefits on behalf of the members.
