Senior Bank Managers have been fired for reportedly abetting a money heist of Kshs 5.2 million from a dead man account between April and May 2019.
A local Kenyan bank in that period received 20 cheques purportedly signed by Surgeon Wilson Muchiri.
Muchiri who held a joint account with his wife died in 2017 after a short illness. Muchiri owned an ear, nose and throat clinic in Hurlingham, Nairobi.
He also a consultant at Gertrude’s Hospital. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) had also employed him on a part-time basis as a lecturer.
Fraudsters infiltrated the dead surgeon’s account with assistance from senior bank managers who approved all payments from the dead man account.
The money heist went on for a month before a red flag was raised.
A whistleblower informed the bank of the scheme by fraudsters abetted by senior managers which prompted them to swing into action.
High Court judge Nioki wa Makau last Wednesday upheld the decision to sack Douglas Wanjohi and Joseph Wanyeji, the senior managers sacked due to their participation in the fraudulent activity.
The two had filed a court case challenging their sacking demanding a severance package of kes9.4 million.
According to Nation, Wanjohi approved Kes4.775 million from Dr Muchiri’s account. On the other hand, Wanyeji approved kes455,000 which caused the bank to reprimand them.
Wanjohi wanted the bank to compensate him Ksh2 million while Wanyeji wanted Ksh6.7 million for unlawful termination.
Judge Makau found the evidence presented before the court fulfilling enough to allow their dismissal from duty.
After a whistleblower informed the bank of the money heist, they opened investigations which established that 20 cheques signed by the dead Muchiri had been submitted to the bank for various payments.
Wanjohi approved five cheques while Wanyeji approved one. This was against the bank's policy which requires everyone in the approval chain to do the proper due diligence of any cheque submitted.
Three of the cheques which exposed the money heist had been flagged because of a pending application by the surgeon’s widow, Patricia Macharia, for a new cheque book in relation to the joint bank account.
Wanjohi and Wanyeji were further castigated for failing to recall the 17 cheques that saw a further payment of kes18.5 million from the deceased's account after the three were flagged.
Wanyeji admitted during a disciplinary hearing that he had processed one cheque that was not registered in the bank system.
The bank eventually established that the two enabled fraudsters to illegally obtain cheques from the deceased man's account.
The financial institution went ahead and terminated their employment.
