Former COO, accountant, and agency directors to face theft and fraud charges after insurer’s collapse
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan authorities have arrested seven people, including former top executives of the now-defunct Invesco Assurance Company, in connection with what investigators describe as a far-reaching insurance fraud scheme.
The arrests follow months of inquiries led by the Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit (IFIU), a specialized arm of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA). Those detained include Invesco’s former Chief Operations Officer, a former director, and an ex-accountant, alongside several directors of Compliant Insurance Agency a company investigators say was central to the scheme.
All seven are expected to face charges of insurance fraud under Section 204B of the Insurance Act and theft under Section 282 of the Penal Code. They remain in police custody and are due to appear in court in the coming days.
The investigation began after the Policyholders Compensation Fund (PCF) appointed as statutory managers of Invesco in August 2024 flagged suspicious financial activity. According to the PCF, the insurer had been routing premium payments collected from its 27 branches through a bank account held by Compliant Insurance Agency, rather than directly through Invesco’s official accounts. This, the fund noted, was a breach of the Insurance Act.
“It was a deliberate system designed to hide transactions,” a senior official involved in the probe told media sources on condition of anonymity. “What we found was not just bad accounting it was a coordinated effort to divert funds away from the insurer.”
Once notified, the IFIU launched a formal inquiry, working closely with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. A detailed case file was submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which approved the charges earlier this week.
The arrests are a rare high-profile move in Kenya’s insurance sector, long seen as under-regulated and susceptible to internal fraud. The IFIU, though relatively young, has ramped up enforcement in recent years.
According to IRA’s latest quarterly report, 35 cases of suspected insurance fraud were reported in the first quarter of 2025 alone an uptick from the previous year. Many of these are still under investigation.
Consumer advocates welcomed the arrests, calling them a step towards greater transparency. “For far too long, these schemes have gone unpunished,” said Mary Wambui, a financial accountability campaigner based in Nairobi. “Policyholders lose faith when the culprits walk free. This shows that impunity has limits.”
Founded over two decades ago, Invesco Assurance had built a wide client base, particularly among public service vehicle operators. Its collapse left thousands of policyholders in limbo, with pending claims and premiums effectively frozen. The PCF has since stepped in to manage compensation for affected clients.
Invesco’s downfall has renewed calls for tighter oversight in the industry, particularly around third-party agencies. Some legislators have already hinted at plans to push for reforms that would strengthen the IRA’s powers.
But for now, the focus remains on the courts, where seven former insiders may soon have to account for how one of Kenya’s oldest insurers came undone.
