StanChart employees Selina Sande (left) and Mike Oundo in a Nairobi court on August 5 where they were charged alongside Collins Makenzi with stealing Sh328 million. Photo/Paul Waweru
What you need to know:
Three workers are accused of stealing Sh328, 644,155.17 together with others at the head office in Nairobi.
The prosecution stated that the trio stole the money jointly with others who were not before the court, but did not give details on how the cash was lost.
The charges against the Standard Chartered employees come at a moment when Kenyan banks are reeling from a rise in white-collar crime.
Ms Selina Betty Pamba Sande (team leader), Mr Mike Samia Oundo and Mr Collins Omunga Makenzi (both operations assistants) were arraigned before principal magistrate Joseph Karanja at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.
They were accused of stealing $3,791,329.05 (Sh328, 644,155.17) on July 8 at the Standard Chartered Bank head office.
The prosecution stated that the trio stole the money jointly with others who were not before the court, but did not give details on how the cash was lost.
“The money came to their possession by virtue of their employment,” the prosecutor told Mr Karanja.
The accused applied to be released on bond saying “the money did not leave the bank.”
They want the magistrate to grant them reasonable bail terms that should not “be influenced by the colossal figure appearing in the charge sheet.” The prosecutor did not oppose the bail plea.
Ms Sande asked the magistrate to release her, saying she needs urgent medical attention.
“Your honour, I am on constant medical observation. I am a diabetic and hypertension patient,” she said, adding that “any further incarceration will make my condition worse.”
The magistrate directed the suspects to be remanded at Kileleshwa Police Station until today when he will rule on their bail plea.
The three urged the court to direct the prosecution to give them copies of witness statements and any other document used as evidence.
The charges against the Standard Chartered employees come at a moment when Kenyan banks are reeling from a rise in white-collar crime.
Data from the Banking Fraud Investigations Department (BFID) indicate that financial institutions reported Sh1.5 billion was stolen from customers’ accounts in the year to April.
The fraud unit noted that investigators managed to recover only Sh530 million ($6.2 million) and added that several cases are pending in court or are still under investigation.
The BFID data shows at least half of the crimes reported had a bank employee involved and the technology-savvy mainly used telegraphic transfers to wire the stolen money.
Besides electronic funds transfer, other forms of fraud include identity theft, credit card fraud, loan fraud and forgery of documents.
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