TOKYO (TR) – Prudential Life Insurance Co., Ltd. on January 16 revealed that over 100 of its current and former employees had engaged in acts of misconduct that resulted in the defrauding of around 500 customers out of more than 3 billion yen.
The Financial Services Agency is taking the matter seriously and plans to thoroughly examine the results of the company’s investigation and take strict action in accordance with the law, reports NHK (Jan. 17).
The Japanese subsidiary of the American insurance company said that they launched an internal investigation following the arrest of two former employees in 2024 on suspicion of fraud.
Last year, police arrested another former employee for allegedly leaking the personal information of customers. As a result, the Financial Services Agency ordered the firm to implement measures to prevent a recurrence.
The firm later found that 106 current and former employees had engaged in fraudulent activities in the swindling of about 3.1 billion yen from 498 customers.
Prudential Life also said that a lack of oversight of management led to employees taking advantage of close relationships with customers, which led to the misappropriations.
To take responsibility for the scandal, Prudential Life CEO and President Kan Mabara will step down on February 1. Hiromitsu Tokumaru, the current president and CEO of Prudential Gibraltar Financial Life Insurance, a group company of Prudential Life, will be his replacement.
