This archive report was first published on 21 October 2019.
Published on October 21, 2019, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Thika arrested a suspected mastermind of identity theft, Robert Mwaura Mwita, who allegedly fleeced over Sh2.2 million through an Automated Teller Machine (ATM).
According to the DCI, Mwaura recruited security guards manning various ATMs in his thieving ring, with the irony being that the suspects were the same people tasked with protecting bankers' money.
The suspects would send secret withdrawal codes to the guards, who would then withdraw money from unsuspecting bankers' accounts on Mwaura's behalf.
After withdrawing the money, the guards would take their share of the loot and send the rest to Mwaura.
Detectives caught one of the guards in the act and videotaped Mwaura withdrawing money from Family Bank's ATM in Thika before taking him in.
The two guards identified as Stanley Nyakundi and Godfrey Masinde Simiyu had sent Mwaura over Sh2.2 million in the month of September alone, according to the DCI.
"I want the Banking Fraud unit to investigate how the fraudsters knew I had opened the account and how they got my number," said George Omondi, a businessman in Kisumu whose bank account was swept clean after fraudsters stole Sh229,894 of his total savings shortly after he opened his bank account.
The trio is in police custody and are expected to be arraigned in court on Tuesday.
