Prudential Life Sets Up 3rd-Party Panel to Investigate Fraud

Tokyo, Feb. 10 (Jiji Press)--Prudential Life Insurance Co. said Tuesday that it has set up a third-party committee to investigate widespread fraud by its employees targeting customers.

"We'll fully cooperate with the independent investigation," Hiromitsu Tokumaru, who became the company's president on Feb. 1, said at a press conference in Tokyo.

It was Prudential Life's second press conference on the fraud, which came to light last month. At the previous press conference on Jan. 23, the company took a negative stance on commissioning a third-party panel to investigate the matter.

But at the latest press conference, Tokumaru said, "We've found it necessary to undergo a third-party investigation with higher expertise and objectivity."

Led by Shuji Iwamura, former head of the Nagoya High Public Prosecutors Office, the third-party committee will review the results of Prudential Life's internal investigation, analyze the cause of the fraud and propose preventive measures.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]