Milimani Court Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo has declined to issue an arrest warrant for David Machiri Kimani, a man identified as suspect in the Equity Bank fraud amounting to Ksh. 1.5 billion.
This is after the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Renson Ingonga applied for a court warrant to arrest Machiri Kimani.
Machiri’s lawyers argued that he had been regularly reporting to court and requested a formal method to document his attendance.
“The respondent has been reporting. The times he has been reporting here the two officers who were in court have been away and delegated the case to another police officer and that is why they claim that he has not been reporting,” his lawyer said.
“We need formal summons where he can be signing his attendance. We feel this was an ambush to a person who is not present to defend himself.”
Machiri was implicated in a case where Ksh1.5 billion was stolen from the bank’s salaries account and siphoned the funds into multiple accounts held in other banks.
The alleged theft was discovered by Equity Bank‘s internal control department on July 10, 2024, when they noticed a series of suspicious transactions involving 47 withdrawals from the salaries account.
How Money was Stolen in Equity Bank
Equity bank’s head of security Kevin Mwangi reported the matter to the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) the following day.
Preliminary investigations by the DCI uncovered that David Machiri’s credentials were used to process transactions amounting to Ksh 1,54 billion.
It was further revealed that these credentials were utilized while he was on leave, and that his possession of a valid passport has positioned him as the primary suspect in the fraud investigation.
Detectives also disclosed that Machiri took sick leave in early June, coinciding with a period of communication between the Salary Processing Unit, the Finance Department, and the Reconciliation Unit.
During this time, the departments were instructed to align with the bank’s policies and guidelines to regularize accounts.
Also Read: CCTV Captures Moment Gunmen Abducted Murang’a Politician Amid Ksh1.5 B Theft Case
Alleged Abduction of David Muchiri
On Tuesday, August 13, Muchiri’s family demanded his release, claiming that he had been abducted by individuals believed to be security officers.
According to the family, armed men broke into Machiri’s home in Thogoto, Kiambu County, on Sunday, August 11, and took him away.
David Machiri is said to have been abducted a month after he was arrested and appeared in court for allegedly defrauding the bank.
He was released on cash bail even though the prosecution had requested 21 days to hold him as they concluded investigations.
The police reportedly freed Kimani on Ksh500,000 bond and required him to report at DCI headquarters every Tuesdays and Thursdays.
His lawyers, led by Ndegwa Njiru, informed the court on Thursday August 15 that Machiri did not appear before the magistrate because he had been abducted and was being held incommunicado.
Also Read: Equity Bank Records Ksh29 billion Profit After Tax in 6 Months
DCI Taking up the Fraud Case
Meanwhile, as of July 11, when the DCI filed their report, several accounts that had received funds without any corresponding source entities were flagged.
Investigators began tracing the primary beneficiaries and true owners behind these businesses, suspecting that they were set up specifically to launder the stolen money and provide a means for withdrawing the proceeds.
The Banking Fraud Investigation Unit of the DCI presented these findings to the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Milimani, Nairobi, on July 12, requesting permission to detain Mr. Kimani for 21 days while the investigation continued.
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