Chanas Assurance to go bankrupt

Chanas Assurance, a giant in the insurance sector of Cameroon has lost approximately $ 2 billion CFA francs in 2013 as revealed by Financial Afrik.

According to the news site, "the Cameroonian branch leader IARDT are paying the price of its managerial instability in recent years."

For nearly two years, a standoff has emerged within the management team and the board administration of Chanas Assurance, creating a hostile atmosphere between the main shareholders of the company, also injunctions and threats of sanctions from the regulator of the insurance sector in Central and West Africa, CIMA.

The peak of the battle between Ms. Cassalegno, the former CEO and the other shareholders of Chanas (including SNH), for the control of the company, was reached in September 2013 with the ousting of the CEO, against her will, despite injunctions of the CIMA for the cancelation of the post of Chief Executive Officer; and the appointment of Henry Ewélé as new CEO.

This apparent takeover of the company formerly controlled by Ms. Cassalegno, finally didn’t last.

In fact, only seven months after his appointment, Henri Ewélé, strongly contested by Jacqueline Cassalegno (soon 89 years), was dismissed and replaced by Albert Pamsy, deemed very close to Ms. Cassalegno, "nicknamed the Iron Lady."

However, the appointment of the former head of the Insurance Division of the Ministry of Finance at the head of Chanas Assurance in April 2014 cannot be the result of those huge losses accumulated by the company.

On analysis, the losses arising from the refusal of Ms. Cassalegno to conclude certain contracts for "personal reasons,” but also the break-up between the Ex-CEO of Chanas and the National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH), biggest shareholder and huge customer of Chanas.

We also learned from reliable sources that this disagreement has led SNH to decide on terminating all of its contracts with Chanas Assurance for the current fiscal year 2014.