An auctioneer has identified computers and furniture among other items belonging to Consolidated Bank for seizure to recover more than Sh5 million owed to nine former employees who were fired in 2018.
Mbusera Auctioneers says in a notice that it identified reception desks, coffee tables, photocopying machines and printers, 50 executive office chairs, 100 computers, gas cooker and water dispensers, among other items from one of the lender’s branches on October 26.
The auctioneer was hired by Banking Insurance & Finance Union Kenya to recover Sh4.5 million due to former cashiers and customer service personnel of the bank's Koinange branch, who were sacked on May 7, 2018 for flouting operations procedures.
The former employees were accused of receiving cheque deposits and posting them to Lavington Security Ltd yet the payee details did not match with the account name in the bank’s system.
It is alleged that the bank account was opened by a customer under Lavington Security Services and was used to defraud the lender of Sh180 million between 2009 and 2017.
The former workers sued the lender for the termination and the Employment and Labour Relations court, in a June 16 decision, agreed that the sacking was unfair and unlawful.
“We refer to the above matter and to the warrant of attachment and sale entrusted to us. We wish to advise you that we visited the above judgment debtor and we took an inventory of their attachable assets and served them with a proclamation as per the attached copy, we shall inform you more after the expiry of seven (7) days’ notice but in case they may decide to settle directly with you, kindly note there is our fees to be paid,” the auctioneer said in the notice.
A deputy registrar of the court gave the auctioneer the nod to sell the items after a 15 days’ notice.
The parties will head back to court on November 27.
They were issued with a show cause letter on October 19, 2017 after the bank discovered the fraud. As the process was going on, the union moved to court to stop their termination.
Evidence presented to court showed that the bank account was opened on August 25, 2015 in the name of Lavington Security Services at the bank’s Koinange Street branch.
The customer started depositing cheques into the account and later on clearing them for withdrawal.
Two years later, a fraud was discovered and it emerged the customer had opened another bank account and perpetuated the same fraud from 2009.
The bank said the customer was introduced and the account opened and supervised by senior bank officials and most of the affected employees were accused of receiving cheques that were deposited by the alleged fraudster.
Consolidated Bank defended the sacking saying it is not believable that with all the deposits and withdrawals from 2009 to 2017, none of the officers could have detected the fraud for close to ten years.
The lender has already filed an appeal against the decision and the union wants it dismissed arguing that it is meant to frustrate them from enjoying the fruits of the judgement.
