Police are pursuing a Kakamega tea trader, following a report from insurance investigators detailing how he claimed millions of shillings from insurance companies by placing multiple accounts of fake insurance claims.
According to the Insurance Fraud Investigators, the trader, whose name was not disclosed for legal issues, has insured his trucks using multiple insurance companies and also ensures that his tea is equally insured while on transit from Uganda.
The investigators' report also detailed how the trader makes his trucks disappear, then allegedly makes multiple insurance claims to reap millions from his well-orchestrated plans.
Investigators got suspicious of the trader’s claims after he made two carjacking claims involving the same lorry carrying different tonnes of tea and different drivers.
He made the first claim on January 27, 2017, claiming that his truck, which was ferrying 15.6 tonnes of tea was carjacked at Shreeji Petrol station in Busia when the driver stopped at his place to refresh. He alleged that the driver, on returning, did not find the truck. He was paid Kshs 2.7 million from this claim.
In April the same year, he made the same claim to a different insurance company, using the same truck, same kidnapping location and time. He however detailed that the lorry was ferrying 20 tonnes of tea and used a different driver to make his claim of Kshs 5 million.
It is also alleged that around the same time, the trader also made a different claim for a different lorry claiming that it had been carjacked at Kapseret while transporting 10 tonnes of tea. He demanded Kshs 2.12 million in compensation.
This sparked the interest of the investigators who were quick to learn that the details did not add up.
“We are not certain on how many companies within the industry he has or is planning to defraud, and including using different company names to defeat detection,” an excerpt from the report read.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority through their fraud unit head Margaret Apima acknowledged receiving the complaint on the tea trader but argued that they could only term the case as an attempted fraud since the trader's claims were denied.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has since taken up the issue as a criminal case.
