Eight suspects connected to the Sh449 million Fuliza fraud scam will be held until Friday, when the court will decide whether to grant them bail.
This is because Milimani Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi, who is in charge of the case, was unable to sit because of an alleged illness.The magistrate will be accessible on February 17, when the subject must be discussed.
The eight suspects were charged on Monday with robbing the NCBA bank of more than Sh449 million. A total of 13 counts were brought against Peter Gitahi Wambui, Isaac Kipkemoi, Gideon Rono, Moses Rono, Collins Kipyegon, Maxwell Njamba, Edwin Kipkorir, and Gideon Kirui, including conspiracy to commit a felony and possession of the profits of crime, specifically automobiles.
In the first count, the suspects are charged with conspiring together to steal Sh449,647 worth of NCBA property between January 1 and July 4, 2022, at an unspecified location in the Republic of Kenya. They argued for moderate bond conditions while disputing the allegations.
Some of the accused were students, while others were practicing teaching, the court was informed last week. On February 8, 2023, the suspects were detained in Nakuru and Kitale, and the DCI desired to detain them for an extended period of time to conclude their investigation. According to preliminary investigations, the suspects defrauded Fuliza of money and had no intention of paying it back.
The chief of security and investigations at NCBA bank, Noah Cheptumo, filed the complaint, according to information provided to the court.
The Banking Fraud Investigation unit’s investigative officer corporal Knocker Nyasinga said Cheptumo asked them to look into fraudulent transactions that were carried out through their digital borrowing system, known as Fuliza, leaving an exposure of Sh449,647.
Between January and July 2022, according to Nyasinga, around 123,000 mobile phone subscribers opted into Fuliza and applied for loans. After then, the SIM cards were fraudulently turned off or deserted, and attempts to contact the customers were futile.
From the registered sim cards, the money was transferred to a number of accounts and mobile banking sites. The investigations officer testified in court, “This is a clear case of fraud wherein respondents developed a careful scheme of getting multiple SIM cards, opening many bank accounts, and asking for fuliza loans with intention of not paying back.”