BY SAM ALFAN.
An Ecobank branch operations Manager and two others have been detained for four days to allow police conclude investigations into the loss of 55 million shillings from the said Bank.
Kevin George Kathurima was arraigned in court alongside Norman Njuguna Karungo, a teller at the said Bank and Eucabeth Nyambeki Booko.
They appeared before Resident magistrate Hellen Onkwani.
The learned magistrate ordered the three accused be detained at Kileleshwa police station pending investigations.
According to the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit, the three are being held for offence of forgery and theft by servant which was committed at Ecobank Gikomba Branch, where the first two suspects worked.
According to the prosecution on March 27, the Branch’s operations Manager, Kathurima reported that 23.4 million shillings , 1365 US Dollars , 1190 Pounds and 1800 Euros was missing from the safe of the bank without the branch being broken into.
The prosecution further claims that Kathurima was in charge of the vault and had the mandate to initiate and authorize transactions of all payments domiciled in the branch for accounts at the said branch.
“The two could not account for forged instructions that were initiated and processed by themselves that were purported to be genuine and valid documents received from African Guarantee Fund,” court heard.
In an affidavit, BFIU investigating Officer Joel Kiplagat stats that Karungo who was a teller at the said bank was also a holder of the keys and had access to the branch strong room and vault .He was also the inputter of transactions that are brought to the branch.
BFIU claims that the initial investigation indicate that the two employees were involved in the processing of another transaction for 2.4 million US Dollars that were remitted to Booko, the third suspect.
The third accused person , Booko is a client at the said bank and was arrested at Ecobank Towers Branch on 27 Match as she withdrew the said amount.
Eucabeth Nyambeki Booko claimed he was being arrested over something she doesn’t know at all.
“Am being arrested and dragged in court over something I don’t know. I received an alert through my phone I have deposited 270,000 US dollars on my account from Gikomba branch which is not my branch. I haven’t withdrawn anything” she told the court.
However prosecution said Eucabeth Nyambeki Booko was nabbed while trying to withdraw the money.
The matter will be ,mentioned on Friday.
