Rejoinder, our reply

On behalf of the board of directors of Delta Life Insurance Company, a director has sent a rejoinder to a report headlined "Irregularities cost Delta Life Insurance Tk 3,687cr" published in The Daily Star on December 5. 

Here is the rejoinder:

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The report stating that the IDRA has detected Delta Life Insurance Company's board and management were involved in irregularities or embezzlement of Tk 3,687 crore is completely baseless.

The ACNABIN report that has been mentioned in the news article is a provisional interim report. No basis has been provided, and all possible allegations made there have been mentioned categorically as 'possible irregularities'.

Once the report matures, the auditors will meet with the board and the management, and we are confident that all of their queries and objections, if any, will be addressed.

Furthermore, the submission of an interim audit report by the IDRA to the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance is a clear violation of Section 96 (1) of the Insurance Act and Clause 3 of the Terms of Reference of the Administrator, both of which require a full and final report as opposed to any interim reports.

The embezzlement of Tk 3,687 crore is impossible and completely baseless.

Delta Life has a life fund of around Tk 4,200 crore, out of which approximately Tk 1,500 crore are in government securities, Tk 1,400 crore are in the capital market, Tk 765 crore are in fixed deposits in various banks, Tk 210 crore are in land and building properties, about Tk 140 crore investment in its wholly owned subsidiary, DLIC Securities Limited, Tk 100 crore plus in premium collection accounts in the various bank accounts, and Tk 75 crore in home and other loans against insurance policies.

Policyholders, shareholders and other interested parties are more than welcome to verify these figures with Delta management. Therefore, Tk 3,687 crore being embezzled is not only baseless but also humanly impossible.

OUR REPLY:

The Daily Star report was based on a letter sent by the Insurance Development & Regulatory Authority (IDRA) to the Financial Institutions Division on December 1, 2021 and another letter dated October 17, 2021.