Five suspects are in custody in connection with a $16 million fraud detected at Clico Life Insurance, police said yesterday.
According to a police press release, the company has alleged that there were four fake transactions where the lives of four people were insured and death certificates were subsequently produced and money collected by various beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, senior officers and insurance agents attached to Clico were yesterday afternoon called in by management for a briefing on the developments.
Chief Executive Officer Geeta Singh in a comment to this newspaper after yesterday’s meeting said she felt it was necessary to brief her staff on what had occurred and the course that the company was following.
“So my meeting with them was basically to make them aware of what was happening instead of them hearing it from a third party,” she said.
Meanwhile, the company has since published a notice in a daily newspaper asking members of the public to make contact with either Clico or the police if they know the whereabouts of two female employees.
This newspaper also understands that more than seven employees have been questioned. The names of those employees, this newspaper understands, mysteriously came up on the bogus insurance policies.
Insurance Commissioner Maria van-Beek was also contacted yesterday and she confirmed that the office received a verbal report from Clico on the fraud.
The commissioner said she spoke with Clico’s management and the insurance commissioner’s office is working closely with the company to determine the extent of the fraud.
It was also noted that incidents of fraud at insurance companies would have an impact on the rates which re-insurers charge the insurance companies.
Clico in a press statement said it remained committed to the highest values and were adamant against any form of fraudulent activity and “will deal with the situation using the strongest arm of the law.”
“Regarding the perpetrators, they are in the hands of the legal system now and the authorities will guide the proceedings,” the statement said.
The company had said that it detected the fraud through its own existing control systems and found some transactions that were not normal to the course of business.
The police are continuing investigations.
