The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has disqualified former Zurich Australia executive Florian Salzgeber from being or acting as a director or senior manager of a general insurer or authorised non-operating holding company, or as an agent of a foreign general insurer.

Mr Salzgeber was an executive of Zurich Australia Insurance (ZAIL) and Zurich Financial Services Australia Limited from January 1999 to May 2003 and was a member of the financial team responsible for capital management and APRA reporting.

On May 25 2005 APRA accepted an enforceable undertaking from the two Zurich entities arising from two financial reinsurance transactions with General & Cologne Re Group Australia that were undertaken in 2000.

The transactions resulted in ZAIL’s profit in 2000 being overstated by $61 million, with the effect that ZAIL appeared to meet the regulatory solvency requirement when it did not.

And that’s not the end of it for some of Zurich’s long-gone executives. APRA Deputy Chairman Ross Jones says the regulator is continuing to consider the fitness and propriety of other individuals involved with these transactions.