Page 13 - Insurance Times November 2019

Fixed income dealer char- KKR sells stake worth $75 million in SBI Life

ged by Kotak Mahindra American private equity (PE) firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. (KKR), has
recently sold shares worth Rs 533.7 crore (around $75
Life Insurance for fraud million) that it held in SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd
Kotak Life Insurance Company has through a block deal on the market, according to the
char ge d data from stock exchanges.
Heman t 5.46 million shares have been sold at Rs 976.25
Kolhe, one apiece. This is the third time this year that KKR has sold shares of SBI Life.
of its fixed
It has been reported by KKR on 25 July that Value Line Pte. Ltd, an affiliate of
inc ome
de aler s, KKR that held the shares, had sold 6.5 million shares at Rs 775 apiece, to raise
with fraudulent transactions that Rs 503.7 crore. The private equity firm on 30 August sold another tranche of
benefited him and a few companies 5.3 million shares at Rs 810.07 apiece, which fetched it Rs 429.3 crore. So far,
but led to losses for the insurer. across the three sales, KKR has increased Rs 1,466.7 crore from the share sale.
Prior to these sales, KKR held 19.5 million shares in the company, represent-
The insurer has recorded the fraud
to regulators and is pursuing crimi- ing a 1.95% stake in the life insurer.
nal charges against the employee The PE firm acquired the SBI Life stake in December 2016, when it, along with
who supposedly benefited by as Singapore state-owned investor Temasek, bought 19.5 million shares, each,
much as Rs 2.5 crore for colluding from SBI Life promoter State Bank of India for Rs 1,800 crore. The latest sale
with unlisted firms. leaves KKR with 2.23 million shares in the life insurance company.
A complaint of employee fraud has
been filed by the company against Airtel Payments Bank, ICICI Prudential Life sign pact to
Kolhe for taking monetary favours offer insurance products
from a third party for entering into
transactions. The company has also Airtel Payments Bank and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance have recently entered
reported the fraud to RBI, SEBI and into a corporate agency agreement for easy ac-
IRDAI and is taking action against cess to life insurance and savings plans for its
the employee. customers, while enabling them to offer finan-
cial security to their families and build long-term
Kolhe kept connections with exter-
savings. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Manag-
nal parties, namely, Tipsons and East
India Company, and used to transact ing Director and CEO N.S. Kannan said, "This
at prices different from the best partnership has paved the way for the Bank`s account holders to expeditiously
available prices of these instru- purchase life insurance and offer a financial safety-net to their families.
ments. "Bridging the protection gap in the country is imperative and the need of the
“After the receipt of a whistle- hour is to offer affordable and simple products and leverage technology to
blower complaint against Hemant smoothen the purchase experience. This association will enable the Bank to
Kolhe, an internal inquiry was un- offer a long term savings product and enable customers to achieve their finan-
dertaken immediately,” said Rohit cial goals and simultaneously facilitate increasing our presence in under-served
Rao, chief communication officer, customer segments."
Kotak Mahindra Group. Airtel Payments Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Anubrata
“During the inquiry, it was found Biswas said, "We are delighted to partner with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance
that Kolhe accepted approximately as part of our endeavour to offer a bouquet of well-designed and innovative
Rs 2.25 crores in a kickback from insurance products to millions of under-insured and un-insured Indians through
external parties for carrying out cer- our extensive distribution network and digital reach. This association is one
tain transactions on NDS-OM plat- more step taken by us to contribute towards the Government of India`s vision
form. We have lodged a police com- of creating a financially inclusive society."
plaint against Kolhe and have also Initially, on the protection platform, ICICI Pru iProtect Smart and on the sav-
reported the matter to the IRDAI ings platform, ICICI Pru Anmol Bachat will be available in phases to Airtel Pay-
and the RBI.”
ments Bank customers.
The Insurance Times, November 2019 13