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The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated an investigation into Homeland Life Insurance Company Limited (HLIC) amid serious allegations of misappropriating Tk 104 crore.
The funds, meant for business expansion including land purchases, land commission fees, land filling, opening service centres, and stock market investments, were allegedly misused in various areas.
The ACC’s initial findings allegedly suggest that the company’s chairman and several officials exploited their positions to misappropriate the funds across 13 sectors, raising concerns of widespread irregularities and corruption among the stakeholders.
Efforts to reach HLIC Chief Executive Officer AK Das for comments regarding the issues were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to phone calls made by The Business Post.
In the latter half of last year, a policyholder of Homeland Life Insurance Company Limited filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Commission, accusing the insurer of embezzling over Tk 131 crore.
The breakdown
The complaint details a series of financial irregularities, including Tk 62 crore spent on establishing 44 agent centres, Tk 1.51 crore for purchasing a nominal piece of land in Toker Bazar, Tk 30.70 lakh for land filling, and Tk 4.80 crore for land acquisition in Jallarpar.
Additionally, the allegations include Tk 1.45 crore paid as land commission fees, Tk 51 crore misappropriated from family insurance surrender values without due consideration, and Tk 5.11 crore siphoned off in stock market investments. Another Tk 30 lakh was allegedly misused under the guise of business expansion, while Tk 4.79 crore was funneled through various other channels.
The complaint further alleges that Tk 2.75 crore was given to Arafat Kazi, son of former company chairman Kazi Enam Uddin Ahmed, for purchasing land in Jallarpar. In total, Tk 7.55 crore was reportedly spent on land purchases in the Jallarpar area, with Tk 1.45 crore allocated as commission for these transactions.
The ACC has launched an investigation taking the claims into consideration. ACC Deputy Director Yasir Arafat has been tasked with submitting the investigation report. As part of the investigation, he has already issued letters requesting documentations to the organisations concerned with the allegations.
The commission has, however, found evidence of Tk 104 crore in misappropriated funds the abovementioned 13 sectors.
Who did what?
In January of this year, the ACC issued a letter to the insurer requesting necessary documentations regarding the land purchases and commission payments, which have already been submitted to the commission as well.
After reviewing the documents, the ACC sent another letter to Homeland Insurance requesting the names, addresses, and whereabouts of individuals who served in the capacities of chairman, managing director, directors, or held other positions in the insurance company up to 2023.
In response, Homeland Insurance sent a letter to the ACC on April 28, 2024.
The letter, signed by the insurance company’s CEO AK Das, listed the names, addresses, and whereabouts of 60 individuals. It was revealed that 19 of these individuals, including the former chairman and managing director, had passed away, 10 were living abroad, and the company had no information on the whereabouts of three individuals.
The complaint also alleges that the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) set a fee of Tk 8,000 for board meeting attendances made by directors of the insurance companies. However, Homeland’s directors violated this directive and charged Tk 40,000 for each meeting.
From 2015 to 2022, they collected an excess of Tk 3.10 crore citing board meeting fees. However, since 2023, they have been adhering to the IDRA regulation of Tk 8,000 in fees for board meeting attendances.
