NAIROBI, Kenya, May 23 – The Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit (IFIU), the investigative wing of Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), has arrested seven insurance fraud suspects over collapsed Invesco Assurance Ltd.
The suspects will be charged with the offences of insurance fraud contrary to section 204b (2) as read alongside section 204b(5) of the Insurance Act and stealing contrary to section 282 of the Penal Code.
They include a former director at Invesco, the former Chief Operations Officer and former accountant as well as directors at Compliant Insurance Agency.
The matter was first reported by Invesco’s Managing Trustee Policy Holders Compensation Fund (PCF) upon their appointment as Statutory Managers of Invesco Assurance Company Ltd by the Commissioner of Insurance in August 2024.
The Managing Trustees PCF discovered that the Insurer was using a bank of Compliant Insurance Agency as the main collection bank account and all the collections for the 27 branches across the country were being remitted in the said account which contravenes the Insurance Act.
Insurance Investigative Unit swung in action with investigations and forwarded a duplicate file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions through the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters for perusal and advice.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) later directed that the suspects be charged with the aforementioned offences. The suspects are in police custody awaiting arraignment in court.
Insurance Fraud Investigative Unit (IFIU) is a specialized unit at IRA that focuses on investigating and combating insurance fraud. The unit plays a crucial role in protecting the insurance industry and its consumers by detecting and preventing fraudulent claims.
The total number of cases reported in the 1st quarter of 2025 (January to March 2025) stand at 35, most of which are under investigation.