This archive report was first published on 1 September 2019.
On September 10th, a court will hear the case of a contractor who claims Consolidated Bank colluded with others to rob him of Sh 4,307,098.
The contractor, represented by A.I Onyango and Co. advocates, alleges that the bank opened an account in his name without his knowledge, using his information to facilitate unauthorized transactions.
According to the court papers, the contractor discovered the fraud when he contacted the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) about a delayed payment, only to be informed that the money had been deposited into his account.
However, an investigation revealed that the payment did not actually reach the contractor's account, but was instead deposited into a cloned account, which was then authorized for withdrawal by Mr. David Ndirangu.
The contractor accuses the bank of failing to practice due diligence before opening the account and colluding with third parties to facilitate the unauthorized transactions.
He also alleges that the bank was negligent in not verifying the authenticity of the documents used to open the account.
As a result of the alleged fraud, the contractor claims that KERRA has blacklisted him, and the Kenya Revenue Authority has sent him a notice of withheld income tax and VAT.
The contractor is seeking compensation for general and punitive damages, as well as an apology from the bank to clear his name.
