An expatriate ‘investor’ allegedly faked his death in an attempt to claim life insurance worth $500,000 (BD188,500) from an insurance firm he worked for, as revenge against his former employer that failed to pay him for months on end.
Three suspects – the 44-year-old Pakistani man, his 46-year-old brother and wife – are on trial at the High Criminal Court on charges of forging his death certificate and presenting it as genuine to secure a payout.
The alleged scam came to light as the insurance company sensed something suspicious about the claim and hired private investigators from the detective agency Pinkerton Consulting and Investigations for a thorough probe.
Investigators went to the 44-year-old man’s hometown in Karachi and interviewed his sons, neighbours, gravediggers and even the local mosque’s imam to verify the claim of death.
The brothers were accused of colluding with an unidentified accomplice to forge the death certificate, which was authenticated by various governmental organisations in Pakistan and Bahrain. The wife used the verified certificate to lodge the claim with the European insurer and raised a lawsuit in court to bolster her claim, with judges ruling that she should be awarded the money.
According to the Public Prosecution, the insurance fraud attempt was thwarted ‘due to factors outside the defendants’ control,’ since the alleged plot was discovered before it came to fruition.
All three were charged with attempting to swindle money from the insurance firm.
In April 2023, the 44-year-old Pakistani visited the insurer’s headquarters to obtain a life insurance policy, with his wife as the beneficiary, according to a testimony by the company’s head of claims.
Four months after the policy was purchased, the insurance agent received a letter from an intermediary firm stating that the man had died – with two documents attached, including the death certificate.
The intermediary, however, warned the Dubai-based claims specialist that the claim seemed suspicious, and so the company tasked an American private investigation firm to look for the truth.
Pinkerton, in its report, recounted the investigations, and the discoveries were summarised by the Public Prosecution in court documents. Experts from the world-famous detective agency trekked to Manghopir, the defendant’s town in Karachi, to find out what really happened. As of March 2024, six months after the supposed death of the defendant, neighbours said that he was still alive.
“As per Pinkerton, the defendant’s wife had notified authorities about his death, and the death report specified that he died of a heart attack, but no autopsy was conducted,” prosecutors summarised.
“Upon inquiry, one of the defendant’s sons said he did not know the grave’s exact location as he did not attend the funeral.
“His other son, who signed the death certificate as a witness, appeared anxious when asked about his father, and claimed that he also did not know where the grave was, despite being a witness.
“He told detectives that the defendant was buried in Manghopir Cemetery, located 7km from his home, even though there were two cemeteries closer to where he lived.”
The imam of the local mosque was asked about the supposed death and remarked that a funeral prayer would have been held to honour the man’s body, had he died in the area.
Detectives then went to the cemetery, whose manager told them that the graveyard was not official, but that he knew all the people buried there and had not come across the man’s name. A gravedigger, who also guards the cemetery, said he did not recall burying such an individual.
A Pakistani legal aide, working at the insurer’s office in Karachi, was asked to look into the death, and he went to the police to inquire about the man’s status. He claimed the authorities’ database showed that the defendant had just signed a lease for a property in the city, and waited outside his apartment with the police.
The 44-year-old was arrested and admitted that the death certificate was forged.
In a recorded police interview, he said he was an employee at the firm but was not paid his salary for five months.
This led him to hatch a plan with his 46-year-old brother, a Bahraini citizen, to come to Bahrain for a while, buy a life insurance policy and then defraud the firm.
He reportedly admitted to bribing a government employee in Pakistan to help him with his plan, and further promised him a percentage of the revenue once the plan was successfully executed.
“While I was at work, I overheard the defendant (brother) talk to someone about a scam scheme,” a manager at a hotel where the Bahrain-based brother works, testified to prosecutors.
“He said that he got an investor’s visa issued for his brother, started a business in his name, then bought a life insurance for him.
“He said he stayed here a little while and then returned to Pakistan, and then got a death certificate for himself.”
A Bahraini policeman testified that the 46-year-old was encouraging people working under him at the hotel to carry out such plots.
Copies of the authenticated death certificate were attached to the case files, with official stamps from Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry, Bahraini Consulate in Karachi and the Pakistani Embassy.
Judges adjourned the hearing to August 12 for defence arguments and to summon the absent suspects.
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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