City of London Police said in a statement on 25 July that Wahidullah Usmani operated as a ‘ghost broker’, a term used to describe fraudsters who sell fake insurance policies, often via social media platforms or messaging apps.

Ghost brokers pose as middlemen for well-known insurance companies, claiming that they can offer legitimate car insurance at a significantly cheaper price. They will forge insurance documents, falsify customer details to bring the cost of the premium down, or take out a genuine policy and cancel it soon after. Crucially, victims often only realise that they do not have genuine cover when they try to make a claim on insurance or are stopped by police.

Usmani pleaded guilty on 6 June 2024, at Inner London Crown Court, to fraud by false representation, carrying on a regulated activity when not an authorised person and money laundering. He was sentenced at the same court on 24 July 2024 to 24 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months. He must also complete a 15 day rehabilitation activity requirement and pay £1,000 in costs.

Detective Sergeant Phil Corcoran, from the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), said “Usmani enticed his victims with the offer of cheap car insurance, but left them with policies that were worth less than the paper they were printed on.

“Ghost brokers like Usmani prioritise their own financial gain above all else. We know that the rising cost of insurance premiums means people are always looking for a cheap deal, but it’s vital to check that you’re buying an insurance policy from a legitimate source.

“Buying a policy from a ghost broker could end up costing you a fine, points on your licence and your car being seized – not to mention having to cover the cost of a new, valid policy.”

The case was referred to the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) in January 2021, by LV= General Insurance (LV=).

The fraud team at LV= identified a motor insurance policy that it suspected was fraudulent. The policyholder told LV= that they had bought insurance from a broker who used an Instagram account called @cheap_car_insurance_quotes. According to the account, customers could “save up to 60% on every quote”.

Further enquiries showed that the account was linked to Usmani and that he had taken out another 13 fraudulent motor insurance policies. In each case, customers paid Usmani up to £250 and he manipulated their details to obtain cheaper quotes.

Officers from IFED arrested Usmani on 14 April 2021. An examination of a mobile phone seized during a search of his home address confirmed that he operated the @cheap_car_insurance_quotes account.

IFED’s analysis of Usmani’s bank account revealed that it had received several payments worth a total of £17,618 between February 2020 and January 2021. Payments worth a total of £2,888 were linked to the 14 policies at LV=, and another £4,319 was confirmed to be related to further ghost broking activity. Nineteen additional payments were suspected to be related to ghost broking.

The @cheap_car_insurance_quotes Instagram account has since been taken down.

Ben Fletcher, director of financial crime at LV= general insurance and Allianz personal lines business, said: “This is a fantastic result, and we’ve worked collaboratively to achieve a great outcome against a ghost broker who was deliberately lying, making money, and putting innocent motorists at risk.

“Cases such as this only serve to drive up costs for our genuine customers, which is why we’re committed to uncovering insurance fraud and get the right outcome for all. Unfortunately, if it looks too good to be true it probably is, and it’s worth looking out for signs such as insurance documents which may not look genuine.”

Nicola Smith, Intelligence and Investigations Manager at the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), said: “Usmani took advantage of those who struggled to afford car insurance, just to line his own pockets; and not only did this cost victims their hard-earned cash, but they also risked serious criminal consequences for driving without valid insurance.

“Ghost broking is widespread across social media and more people must know the signs, which is why we’re campaigning in partnership with IFED and the insurance industry to raise awareness of this important issue.”

According to the latest figures from the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), the number of people who fell victim to ghost brokers on social media increased by 6% last year. While one in five 18-24 year olds now use social media to search for car insurance, a recent YouGov survey revealed that only one in ten people are familiar with ghost broking.

City of London Police further highlighted some common signs of a ghost broker:

• The price you are quoted for insurance is much cheaper than you can find anywhere else.
• The broker only wants to communicate via social media or a messaging app.
• An advert for insurance looks unprofessional or is poorly spelt.
• The broker doesn’t have a legitimate website, UK landline number or address.
• The broker offers insurance at an upfront cost, despite insurance being meant to be priced based on the risk of the individual.

The service has been developed using Embark’s platform technology and as part of a white label partnership. The platform will enable advisers to choose to trade its SMF range on Embark’s full investment functionality.

The platform will be accessed directly from LV’s recently launched adviser portal.

LV= SMF range can complement a retirement portfolio and will appeal to people approaching retirement or drawing an income from their pension, especially where advisers want to make recommendations that reduce the volatility of the retirement funds to help improve investor composure for their customers.

‘Unhelpful’

Clive Bolton, managing director of protection, savings and retirement at LV=, said: “LV’s range of smoothed managed funds are popular with advisers seeking access to investment solutions that materially reduce volatility for more cautious investors who are less comfortable living with investment risk.

“The funds’ smoothing mechanism is unique in the market, and based on the previous 26-week daily rolling averaging of the underlying fund price. It is therefore easy to understand, simple for advisers to explain to their clients and in smoothing out the day-to-day volatility of the markets enables them to be more confident about how they can design and provide a more composed investment experience for their customers.

“Up until now advisers typically have to make a choice to shape a client’s investment solutions using either a provider’s ’off-platform’ insured products alongside other selected fund options versus an ‘on-platform’ wider range of fund options with a typically more digitised and efficient user journey.

“We think that this on and off-platform separation is unhelpful and that advisers should increasingly be able to efficiently access the benefits of both our insured options such as LV= smoothed managed funds and also our fixed term annuities, alongside wider on-platform funds options, including modelled portfolios and discretionary fund solutions.

“Through our partnership with Embark and by deploying their award-winning technology and services inside our adviser support and user journey, we’re removing that separation; offering more flexibility for advisers to build solutions that best serve their customers’ needs and preferences and we believe will be of increasing appeal for advisers looking for ways to reduce volatility by accessing an element of smoothing into a client’s investment portfolio.

“Access via platform technology is part of a series of improvements made over the last couple of years to update the SMF range and make it easier for advisers to write business with LV=.”

Head of multi asset David Millar is going to retire at the end of March 2023 after 10 years in the role at the investment firm.

From January 2023, Goergina Taylor will take over as head of the multi asset team and Clive Emery will become head of multi asset strategies.

Julius Baer

The Swiss-headquartered wealth firm has made five senior appointments within its Americas team.

Lucas Rizzi has taken on on the role of chief technology office and joins from Itau Private Bank, where he was head of customer digital experience.

Greice Rabelo has been named as a senior relationship manager, she was previously at BNP Paribas, where she worked as head of private bank Belo Horizonte.

Antonio Monteiro also joined as a senior relationship manager from ASA Investments, where he was responsible for single and multi-family offices.

Laura Drummond and Kevin Liu have both become relationship managers, having previously worked at XP Investimentos and Messem Investimentos, respectively.

Societe Generale

Investment banking boss Slawomir Krupa has been promoted to chief executive of the French banking group.

He will succeed Frederic Oudea, who is due to step down next year.

Krupa has been at the French bank since 1996 and in his current role since January 2021.

STM Group

The cross-border product provider has named Therese Nash as interim chief financial officer.

She will also join the board on an interim basis for 12 months, as Nicole Coll steps down at the end of October 2022

Nash was STM’s chief financial officer between 2014 and 2021.

JM Finn

The UK-based wealth management firm has recruited Rob Deverell as chief operating officer.

He was previously at Rothschild Wealth Management, where he most recently served in a similar position.

LV=

The UK mutual insurer has promoted Adam Ruddle to chief investment officer.

He was previously a senior investment manager at the firm.

Novia Financial

Amira Norris has become head of sales at the adviser platform.

Most recently, she was at Nucleus Financial, where she was head of account management.

Mirova

The Natixis IM affiliate has hired Guillaume Abel as deputy chief executive, based in Paris.

He joined from Ostrum Asset Management, where he was head of business development.

Hampden & Co

The UK-based private bank has expanded its senior management with two hires.

Kevin Eagles and Alistair Macpherson join as banking directors based in London and Edinburgh, respectively.

Eagles was previously a private banker at Wetherbys Private Bank, while Macpherson joined from Homes England, where he served as a senor manager in the structured real estate finance team.

GSB

The Dubai-headquartered wealth firm has named Lloyd Simpson as partner.

He joins from advice firm Acuma, where he spent eight years as an executive wealth manager.

Dora Seow will become chief executive for Singapore, effective from 10 October.

She joins from Franklin Templeton where she spent over 20 years, most recently as country head for Singapore.

LV=

The UK-based mutual insurer hired David Hynam as chief executive, subject to regulatory approval.

He previously held a similar role at Bupa’s UK and global markets and Friends Life.

Hynam succeeds Mark Hartigan who decided to step down from the top job after two years in an interim role, and will leave the business at the end of September 2022.

Blackrock

The US asset management giant has expanded its senior team for Asia Pacific. Tomoko Ueda becomes Apac head of corporate strategy and development, while Aarti Angara takes on the role of Apac head of product.

Ueda joins from Nikko Asset Management where she was a senior corporate officer and global head of strategic planning and management information.

Angara was previously chief investment officer at Caravel Asset Management.

Evelyn Partners

Paul Fidoe has taken on the position of business development director at the wealth management group, based in the firm’s Birmingham and Bristol offices.

He was previously at Barclays where he spent 22 years, most recently as business development manager for the wealth and investment management division.

Smart

Global retirement tech provider Smart named Eve Read as senior director of strategic delivery.

Most recently, she led the business delivery and customer engagement functions at the government’s defined contribution scheme, Nest.

Old Mill

The UK financial advice firm recruited Chris Watts as an associate director within its capital tax advisory team.

He joins from tax advisory firm ETC tax where he was for nearly two years in a similar role.

Ogier

Global law firm Ogier has expanded its sustainable investment consulting team in Europe.

Dasha Kuts will become a senior manager within the team, based in Dublin.

She used to work as a consultant at impact investing advice firm Enabling Qapital.

Franklin Templeton

The global investment manager has expanded its ETF sales team, with Martin Bechtloff and Lofti Ladjemi joining as senior ETF sales specialists in Dusseldorf and London, respectively.

Bechltoff used to work as a sales manager at HSBC Global Asset Management, while Ladjemi was at Tabula Investment Management where he was responsible for the ETF business in the UK.

The savings, investment and protection provider announced that Mark Hartigan has confirmed his intention to step down as interim chief executive and a member of the board.

The process to appoint a permanent chief executive is already underway.

Hartigan has agreed that he will remain in his interim role while the search for his successor takes place.

Financial Ombudsman Service

James Dipple-Johnstone has been named deputy chief ombudsman and Karl Khan as chief operating officer of the service.

They will take up their roles by 3 October.

Natixis Investment Managers

Gad Amar has been promoted to head of distribution for western Europe.

Amar joined Natixis IM in October 2021 as international chief product officer.

Canada Life UK

The insurer has hired Cath Goddard as its head of data, insight and Customer relationship management (CRM).

Goddard joins from Aviva, where she was head of data, insight and planning and led customer segmentation, econometrics, customer-led proposition build and innovation for the business.

Crestbridge

The firm has appointed Anne Catherine Grave as country head of Luxembourg.

Prior to joining Crestbridge, Grave was the partner in charge of corporate secretarial services in Deloitte in Luxembourg.

April International

The specialist international private medical insurance provider has hired Agne Gacionyte as UK marketing manager and Roshani Thapa joins as broker sales consultant.

Gacionyte joins from Axa Health, where she held a senior marketing role. Roshani was previously with Aetna International, where she was responsible for providing support to the UK sales and retention teams for SME and large corporate accounts.

Sanlam Wealth

The firm, which will change its name to Atomos from September 2022, has named Paul Gordon as head of medical specialist wealth planners.

Prior to Sanlam Wealth, Gordon spent over 16 years at MacArthur Gordon and was previously at BMA Services for four years.

Boston Multi Family Office

The Isle of Man-headquartered firm has promoted three employees.

Mary Smith has been promoted to client accounting manager within its accounts team.

Helen Hall and Rachael Hughes have both been promoted to senior managers.

Robeco

The investment firm has hired Aliki Rouffiac as sustainable portfolio manager.

Rouffiac joins from Pictet, where she was a multi-asset investment manager.