DCI detectives attached to the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) on Wednesday arrested Anthony Maina Kiama, 29, a businessman in Thika, who attempted to defraud a local insurance company of Ksh204 million.
The detectives, dubbed Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit (IFIU), revealed that they were waiting for instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and are set to arraign the suspect in court.
According to the investigative team, the suspect had lodged the claim with Sanlam General Insurance purporting that Afroplast Industries based in Thika had lost its manufacturing machines in a fire incident in 2018.
“However, investigations established that this was a fraudulent claim, as the machines destroyed in a fire incident in Thika, belonged to a different entity registered as Josmak Company Limited,” IFIU detective Peter Ewoi confirmed.
The detectives termed this arrest as a major breakthrough in the fight against insurance fraud in the country.
The company’s CEO, Patrick Tumbo, welcomed the arrest noting that insurance fraud was a problem that hindered the industry from growth and limited the profits that the shareholders receive.
He further explained that the industry had now been forced to vet all the claims that were being made in order to weed out the unscrupulous ones.
“Vetting is necessary though it may slightly lengthen the period leading to the settlement, we believe this is the price that we must pay to deal with fraud instances. We remain committed to ensuring that our customers receive exceptional service,” Tumbo added.
In related news, former Kenya Reinsurance Corporation finance director, John Faustin Kinyua, is currently serving a three-year prison term for fraudulently selling the company's house in Karen, Nairobi.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigated the allegation that the property on Ndege Road in Karen had been fraudulently sold to Rockhound.
