The insurance industry should be working to protect itself from international criminals or it could end up being slammed with hefty fines from regulators.
Speaking at a conference hosted by Littlejohn Frazer, Jonathan Fisher, QC of 18 Red Lion Court chambers, said the industry should be looking at the heavy fines faced by the banking sector when it failed to follow anti-crime procedure or co-operate with the regulator to tackle international fraud.
“We can expect similar fines and accompanying bad publicity for insurance sector firms that are lax in guarding against money-laundering now the new regulatory regime is in place,” said Fisher.
The Asian tsunami will create opportunities for money-launderers to exploit the industry, warned Fisher.
“Insurers will be asked to under-write all sorts of projects in 2005, and you should not let your humanitarian instincts blind you to the potential for many of these being a criminal front,” he said.
“Indeed, based on previous estimates maybe as many as one-in-twenty projects over £1m could involve money-laundering as a motive.”
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
