The new administration of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has decided to safeguard interests of small insurance and audit firms which were penalised during the period of the former SECP chairman.
Inside sources said a probe into the wrongdoings of the former chairman revealed that laws were framed to force insurance companies to invest in the stock market making other venues unattractive for them. Similarly, insurance companies were pushed to get their annual audit carried out by specific firms only leaving smaller firms high and dry. The noted audit firms harassed smaller companies on the behest of SECP Commissioner Asif Arif, said sources. All actions taken against smaller insurance sector companies were on the instructions of the top three companies, enjoying around 70 percent share in the Rs 36 billion market. EFU, a leading company, bribed Mr Arif by opening an insurance agency in the name of his wife where a recent probe has unearthed suspicious transactions worth tens of millions, officials said, adding that they were collecting more evidence before taking an appropriate action. Insiders said a director, who had been fired from various departments and is serving SECP without a salary, is facing probe for misusing funds.
