How UK Citizen Who Faked Death to Receive Ksh 129M Was Caught Hiding in Nairobi

An insurance police form
Spectacles placed on top of an insurance claiming form.
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IRA

Cases of individuals faking their own demise in an attempt to cash in on hefty payouts from insurance companies are rampant across the world. 

In his latest book, Go Away, I’m Dead, veteran investigator John Saunders notes that he successfully proved that more than 500 individuals who claimed to be dead were alive.

Saunders, in an article featured in The Sun, noted that he once travelled to Nairobi to track down a fugitive who had defrauded up to four insurance companies.

In 2003, the suspect, who was wanted for a fraud case in a court in Newcastle, England, was said to have passed away in a taxi crash in Nairobi.

UK investigator John Saunders who proved that 500 suspects had faked death for insurance money.
UK investigator John Saunders who proved that 500 suspects had faked death for insurance money.
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The fugitive had already claimed four life policies valued at £894,000 (Ksh129 million as per current inflation estimation).

His wife, however, presented his death certificate to the court, eventually compelling the court to drop the case.

When Saunders took over the case, he found that the man was alive in Kenya and undergoing treatment at one of the country's leading hospitals.

He also found out that the death certificate presented in court was fake as it had been issued before an autopsy was conducted.

The suspect's fingerprints were also detected on the document.

“His sister ­travelled alone to Nairobi but flew business class five days after the death, with a person in a wheelchair who was covered in bandages.

“Was he using his brother-in-law’s passport and perhaps concealing his identity?” Questioned Saunders.

In some instances, Saunders found out that suspects, whose kin claimed had passed away from natural causes such as dehydration and road accidents, took out life policies north of Ksh289 million (£2 million).

In October 2021, a man was jailed for eight months for faking the death of a relative in an attempt to make Ksh500,000 in Kenya.

It was revealed that the suspect forged the burial permit to have the money remitted.

An undated photo of a police car in Kenya
An undated photo of a police car in Kenya.
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