Nancy Nyambura Kihanga, a customer at the Co-operative Bank of Kenya lost a whooping KSh 2.2 million, a Milimani court has established.
The court heard that Simon Serere Seno, a Digital Data and E-Channels Support Officer at the Co-operative Bank of Kenya Kayole Branch, colluded with Harrison Mwaura Njoroge to defraud the customer.
According to the charge sheet, the money was stolen in October 2023.
Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Gilbert Shikwe heard that being an IT expert, Seno allegedly accessed the personal data of the customer without prior authority.
It is worth noting that Kihanga is not the first Kenyan to lose her hard-earned money through an inside job.
Cases of Kenyans losing money saved in banks or mobile money applications have left many frustrated leading to questions over lack or failure to enforce regulation.
For instance, in 2023, the Senate Finance and Budget Committee while grilling Central Bank of Kenya Governor Kamau Thugge, heard that a Gikomba trader lost some KSh 800,000 from Equity Bank.
“There is a lady in Gikomba whose KSh 800,000 was withdrawn. Within two days the money was returned. This is just one person I raised her issue.
“What about other Kenyans whose money has been withdrawn and they are not able to raise the issue? What are the punitive measures which have been put to ensure banks tighten their systems against fraudsters?” Nandi Senator Samson Cheragei posed.
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Kamau Thugge acknowledged that the trend in which Bank Customers in Kenya are losing their hard-earned money saved in banks has gone up.
“There are spikes in frauds in the banking sector due to increased digitization. However, there are legal and regulatory frameworks to mitigate fraud risk requiring banks to have robust systems with adequate internal controls to detect, prevent, and mitigate risks of fraud,” said the governor.
