An employee of Nairobi-based investment bank Genghis Capital has been charged with theft of Sh10.38 million from the company.
Ian Waihenya Ndung’u has been charged alongside his mother, Damaris Wakiuru Ndirangu, on several counts of theft and conspiracy to defraud the market intermediary. The two were arraigned on Monday, having been arrested on March 16.
A charge sheet says the two, whose case is being handled by the Capital Markets Fraud Investigation Unit, together with others not before the court, conspired to defraud Genghis of Sh17.02 million on diverse dates between March and September 2023.
Mr Waihenya is separately charged with theft of Sh10.38 million from the stockbroker between May and June 2023. On her part, Ms Wakiuru is charged—jointly with Mr Waihenya— with the theft of Sh1.58 million from Genghis between April 17 and 24, 2023.
The pair is alternatively charged with handling stolen funds in their bank accounts, totalling Sh10.38 million for Mr Waihenya and Sh1.58 million for Ms Wakiuru.
“Ian Waihenya Ndung’u: on diverse dates between May 2023 and June 2023 at Genghis Capital Ltd in Nairobi within Nairobi County, being an employee of the said company, stole cash Sh10,379,099, the property of Genghis Capital Ltd which came into your possession by virtue of your employment,” says the charge sheet.
Regular market review notes published by Genghis Capital show that Mr Waihenya was until March 13, 2024 listed among the company’s market dealers. Over the years, the CMA’s anti-fraud unit has preferred charges against several stockbroker employees for various offences which include theft from their employers, misappropriation of investor funds, and theft of bonds. In 2022, the markets regulator put in place an enhanced reward scheme for whistleblowers to encourage reporting of fraud cases, paying them three percent of the amount recovered subject to a maximum of Sh5 million for leaking capital market fraud.
The CMA banks on the award scheme to promote investor confidence in markets by arresting irregularities in the market such as share price manipulation, insider trading, breach of governance code, and theft among others.
