Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: An officer of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) posted at the Panaji branch has been booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Goa unit, for allegedly siphoning off ₹43.80 lakh through fraudulent transactions involving premium payments over a span of seven months.
The accused, an administrative officer working in the Pension and Group Scheme Unit, is facing serious charges including criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, misappropriation of funds, tampering with records, and professional misconduct. According to officials, the officer masterminded a scheme to divert LIC funds into third-party accounts between July 2023 and January 2024, and subsequently routed the money back to himself or his associates.
The CBI has also booked a local wine store owner as a co-accused, along with other unidentified individuals. Investigations revealed that the fraudulent transfers—ranging from ₹2.90 lakh to ₹13.90 lakh—were made through seven transactions. An internal LIC probe uncovered that the beneficiaries were not enrolled in any official LIC group insurance schemes.
While some recipients returned the money after the scam was detected, the CBI noted that the accused made deliberate attempts to tamper with financial records to conceal the fraud. The Central agency has now filed an FIR citing serious breaches of trust and financial misconduct.
Although a significant portion of the embezzled amount was recovered, LIC suffered a net loss of approximately ₹30 lakh due to the fraud.
This incident has raised concerns about internal control mechanisms within LIC and has prompted calls for stricter financial oversight in group insurance schemes.
