A Nairobi based Re-insurance broker has been arraigned in court over a Kes 11.8 million theft case.
Underwriting Africa Ltd Chief Executive Officer Cecilia Bridget Rague in a virtual appearance before Nairobi Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku faced theft charges for failing to remit reinsurance premiums paid to her company by Sanlam General Insurance.
The Re-Insurance brokerage firm boss denied the stealing by agent charges preferred against her following recent investigations by the Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit (IFIU).
The charges indicated that she had received Kes 13.3 million re-insurance premiums from Sanlam General Insurance but had failed to transfer the full amount to the re-insuring firms.
The charge stated that Underwriting Africa Re-Insurance Brokers had been approached by Sanlam General Insurance to seek re-insurance placement with various reinsurers for a risk that they had insured.
She denied the charges and was released on a Kes 1million cash bail or a Kes 2million bond with a surety of a similar amount and the hearing scheduled for December 10th this year.
The IFIU investigators supporting the prosecution indicated that: “Four re-insurers accepted to take up the risk, and the premiums payable being Kes 13,314,097/-, which were paid to the Intermediary account on the December 6th 2019 for remittance to the various re-insurers. The broker, however, only paid Kes 1, 437,074/- and misappropriated an amount of Kes 11,877,025,” the charge sheet read.
According to the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Insurance Industry Release Report for Q4 2019, thirty (30) fraud cases including 6 Theft by Agents matters, were reported to the IFIU in the last quarter of last year. Sixteen (16) cases were reported in October, three (3) in November and eleven (11) in December.
