This archive report was first published on 25 August 2021.
On August 25, 2021, Equity Bank officials appeared before a parliamentary committee to address allegations made by Deputy President William Ruto that the bank had advanced a Sh15 billion loan to Harun Aydin, a Turkish national who was recently deported to Istanbul.
Equity Bank's Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi, represented by Managing Director Gerald Warui, testified that the bank has no customer by the name Harun Aydin and denied advancing the loan.
Mr. Warui also stated that Equity Bank has never received any phone calls from anyone to advance a loan to Mr. Aydin, contradicting Dr. Ruto's claim that he helped facilitate the loan to aid in setting up a vaccine manufacturing plant in Uganda.
The National Assembly Committee on Finance and Planning had summoned Equity Bank to answer seven questions relating to the allegations made by the Deputy President.
Equity Bank was expected to answer questions, including whether the bank complied with all legal and regulatory requirements in handling Mr. Aydin's alleged transaction and whether a thorough know-your-customer (KYC) check was carried out before processing the credit facility.
The saga began when Dr. Ruto, accompanied by Mr. Aydin and other associates, were stopped from boarding a flight to Entebbe, Uganda from Nairobi's Wilson airport. Mr. Aydin was later deported upon return to Kenya from Uganda, with Interior Secretary Fred Matiang'i stating that the Turkish national was a suspect in terrorism financing and money laundering.
