News Details

Regulator seeks info on insurers' properties


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The insurance regulator has taken a move to stop misuse by companies in the name of immovable properties.

Shefaque Ahmed, chairman of Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), said they issued a circular yesterday asking all companies, both life and non-life, to submit information on their immovable properties, including land, building, space and flat, by June 30.

All the documents related to the properties will have to be submitted in a specified table prescribed by the IDRA, said the circular.

If a company does not have any immovable property, it will have to mention that in the form of a statement certified by its chief executive officer and chief accountant, the circular said.

Officials at the IDRA said they have issued the circular after observing that many insurance companies are buying land, building, space and flat, which are often used by the directors themselves.

In some cases, even the authorities do not know about such purchases, they said.

“Some companies have bought lands and flats at inflated prices,” another top official of the IDRA said.

Last year, Popular Life Insurance was in the media reports for buying 667.56 decimals of land in Gulshan, involving Tk 294 crore. It was eventually found that the land was actually owned by the government.

Later, the IDRA carried out an investigation by an audit firm on the purchase and accordingly, sought response from the company. After several notices, Popular Life submitted its response which is being reviewed now, the officials said.

[ Business ] 2012-05-18