Insurance fraudster that set fire to his factory sentenced to 13 months prison
A company director has been jailed for 13 months for setting fire to his factory in an attempt to defraud his insurer, Allianz.
Haroon Bashir had admitted starting the blaze at his printer supply factory in Dundee. The Sherriff Court sentenced him to 13 months in prison today.
“This is a good result for our Major Loss Team. Not only does it emphasise our zero-tolerance approach to fraud, it also demonstrate how strongly we collaborate with all our suppliers,” commented James Burge, head of counter fraud at Allianz Commercial.
The fire had occurred on 11 February 2018 in a room storing ink cartridges for printer supplies company Fazteck. The building was owned by a company called Chohan. Both businesses, which were managed by Mr Bashir and his family, filed claims for losses totalling just over £2m.
However, investigations from Allianz and its partner suppliers quickly established the fire was suspicious. Naked flames had started the blaze, suggesting arson. And CCTV footage showed Mr Bashir emerging from a building where smoke was coming from. Finally, a search of the Fazteck premises recovered policy documents where information on claims pay-outs had been highlighted.
The evidence gathered by Sedgwick and the legal work carried out by BLM contributed to Mr Bashir pleading guilty to wilful fire raising and attempted fraud when his case was heard at the Dundee Sheriff Court.
Authored by Allianz
About Allianz
Allianz Insurance is one of the largest general insurers in the UK and part of the Allianz Group, a leading integrated financial services provider and the largest property and casualty insurer in the world.
The mission of Allianz Insurance is to be the outstanding competitor in our chosen markets by delivering products and services that our clients recommend, being a great company to work for and achieving the best combination of profit and growth. We aim to achieve this by putting the customer at the heart of everything we do.
Allianz is able to offer customers a wide range of products and services including home and motor and commercial insurance with full range of products and service for sole traders' right up to large commercial organisations.
Allianz Insurance employs over 4,500 people across a network of 20 offices in the UK and the company’s Head Office is situated in Guildford, Surrey. Our heritage and financial strength help make Allianz what it is today; a safe and trusted partner. Over 40 FTSE100 companies partner with Allianz. youTalk-insurance sharing Allianz Insurance news and video