Two arrested in Sh40.5 million Kenya Maritime Authority insurance fraud

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission CEO Twalib Mbarak. [Standard, File]

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested two top officials from Liaison Group Insurance Brokers Limited over a Sh40,539,760 medical insurance fraud.

Julius Kitheka, the General Manager of Healthcare and Danson Kaba, the Mombasa Branch Manager, were detained following raids in Nairobi and Mombasa.

They are accused of collaborating with Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) officials Henry Mwasaru and Bevaline Lundu in a bid rigging scheme.

The EACC said Liaison Group prepared the tender documents and forwarded them to KMA for advertisement.

The fraudulent tender was awarded for medical insurance, group life assurance and general insurance coverage for KMA staff and board members.

Confirming the arrests, EACC spokesperson Eric Ngumbi said the operation "yielded valuable evidentiary material that will support the ongoing investigation."

He added the Commission is focusing on fraudulent insurance procurements in public institutions, which some officials are using as "a conduit for embezzlement of public funds through bid rigging and kickbacks."

The tender, issued for the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 financial years, includes KMA-ONT-19-2023-2024, KMA-ONT-20-2023-2024, and KMA-ONT-29-2023-2024.