UK Insurance Broker Charged With Bribery in Ecuador Over $38 Million Deal

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office has charged a Lloyd’s of London insurance company for failing to prevent international bribery.

The insurance broker faces charges for failing to stop its associates from bribing Ecuador’s state officials between October 2013 and March 2016.

Officials have been ordered to present the involved individuals before Westminster Magistrates’ Court the following month.

A UK insurance company regulated by Lloyd’s has secured reinsurance deals worth approximately US$38 million by allegedly paying bribes to Ecuador’s officials through intermediaries working in the United States, according to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

This will be the first time a jury has heard a case involving an SFO’s “failure to prevent bribery” if it goes to a contested trial.

The penalized insurance broker offered reinsurance services, which protect against potential losses resulting from large and unforeseen payouts for insurance contracts.

This was sold to state insurers that cover the state energy and water businesses, as well as other sectors of the Ecuadorian public sector.

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It secured a substantial amount, US$6.2 million, in commission to deliver these services. US$3 million of that amount has to be allocated to intermediaries to secure deals.

As stated in a UK official press release, the company representatives will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 7 May 2025 to face the charges.