An insurance provider to 788,000 Russian police officers loses its license

It was hired to insure the lives and healthcare of 788,000 police officersfor the next two years, but the Central Insurance Company (TsSO) just had its license revoked by Russia’s Central Bank, after the company’s management was caught deliberately filing false information.

The Interior Ministry’s Internal Investigations Division opened its probe into TsSO immediately after the deal with the police, given that the company nearly lost its license in 2016 — just a year before closing the 13.7-billion-ruble ($218.6-million) police contract.

A source in the Interior Ministry told the newspaper Kommersant that TsSO only received 250 million rubles (about $4 million) of its contract before losing its license, and the ministry plans to use its own funds to cover officers’ insurance payments, until a new provider can be found (though analysts question the legality of this arrangement).