SHOCK as it emerges that a senior Government Official lost Ksh 1 billion to hackers after his Equity Bank account was hacked, forcing NIS bosses to intervene

Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - It is now emerging that a senior Government Official reportedly asked NIS detectives to investigate the loss of $8 million (Ksh 1 billion) from his Equity Bank account on July 10.

The brief given to top officials of NIS at the Ruaraka headquarters was that unknown people had hacked into the personal account of the senior official and siphoned the cash.

The money, according to security forces, had been converted into bitcoins and then moved into different offshore accounts.

Coincidentally, Ksh 1.5 billion was fraudulently withdrawn from the bank on the same day the senior government official lost his money.

It’s not however clear whether the two incidents are related.

In the Ksh 1.5 billion heist, court documents reveal that the internal control department detected a flurry of suspect transactions from the bank’s salaries account.

According to the DCI, there were 47 withdrawals from the bank’s payroll account and the funds were quickly transferred to multiple accounts held in other banks.

All the transactions lacked corresponding credits from the source entities or individuals, which raised suspicion from the internal controls team reviewing the transactions for confirmation details.

The Head of Security Kevin Mwangi reported the matter to the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit at the DCI.

David Machiri Kimani, Equity Bank’s manager at the Group Processing Centre, Salary Processing Unit, was questioned by DCI after his credentials were used to conduct the heist.

He was taken to court and released on bond.

Machiri was later abducted by suspected NIS operatives from his home in Thogoto Kiambu and his whereabouts remain unknown.    

The Kenyan DAILY POST.