The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested nine suspects over an alleged scheme in which Ksh1.57 billion was siphoned from a National Treasury-backed financial inclusion programme, raising fresh questions about controls over public funds long after the programme had officially ended. The suspects are currently being held at the EACC’s Integrity Centre in Nairobi as investigators prepare the case for prosecution and pursue efforts to recover the allegedly stolen funds. The arrests follow an investigation into the Programme for Rural Outreach of Financial Innovations and Technologies (PROFIT), a financial inclusion initiative funded through a loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). How Ksh1.57 Billion Was Allegedly Diverted According to findings contained in EACC’s latest quarterly report, investigators discovered that more than Ksh1.56 billion was fraudulently deposited into a bank account opened in PROFIT’s name after the programme’s official account had already been closed.
The revelation raises a critical question about how a programme that had ceased operations could continue to receive and move hundreds of millions of shillings without triggering immediate alarms within government financial systems.
Investigators allege that the suspects used forged National Treasury documents to establish the new bank account, creating the appearance that it was an authorised account belonging to the PROFIT programme.
The alleged deception subsequently opened the door for massive transfers and cash withdrawals. EACC established that approximately Ksh784.7 million was transferred to 23 companies, while another Ksh768.2 million was allegedly withdrawn in cash.
The movement of such large sums has put the spotlight on the individuals who allegedly authorised the transactions, the companies that received the money, and the financial institutions through which the funds passed. Programme Had Already Ended The alleged fraud is particularly significant because PROFIT had officially ended on December 31, 2019. The programme was launched in 2010 to expand access to credit for small-scale farmers through credit guarantees, lending via microfinance institutions, and capacity-building initiatives.
Despite its closure, EACC alleges that money continued flowing through accounts associated with the programme. The development raises questions about the effectiveness of government controls over dormant programmes and whether financial accounts belonging to closed projects were properly shut down and monitored. EACC Pursues Suspects and Recovery The nine suspects are being held as investigators consolidate evidence before their expected arraignment. Beyond securing convictions, the anti-graft agency is also pursuing recovery of the funds allegedly lost through the scheme, potentially putting the assets and financial interests of individuals and companies linked to the transactions under scrutiny.
The investigation could therefore extend beyond the nine arrested suspects as investigators attempt to establish the full chain through which the money allegedly moved.
EACC's findings indicate that the PROFIT investigation forms part of a wider probe into suspected corruption and economic crimes involving at least Ksh1.87 billion in public funds across the National Treasury and several county governments. Questions Over Treasury Controls The case exposes potentially serious weaknesses in the safeguards surrounding public projects after their official closure.
If investigators establish that forged government documents were sufficient to create a new account and move more than Ksh1.5 billion, questions will inevitably arise over the verification systems used by government agencies and financial institutions to authenticate Treasury instructions.
The alleged transfer of Ksh784.7 million to 23 companies also gives investigators a potentially important trail to follow as they establish whether the recipient firms provided legitimate services or were allegedly used to move and conceal public funds.
The cash withdrawal of Ksh768.2 million could prove even more significant because investigators will need to establish who authorised the withdrawals, who physically accessed the money and where the funds ultimately went. Latest in EACC's Crackdown on Public Funds The PROFIT arrests come as EACC intensifies investigations into alleged corruption involving national and county governments.
Last month, the commission arrested seven current and former senior Nakuru County Government officials alongside a contractor over an alleged Ksh120 million procurement fraud.
That investigation focused on county contracts awarded between the 2020/2021 and 2024/2025 financial years, with EACC alleging irregular procurement, conflict of interest, and corruption.
The latest arrests therefore add another major public-finance investigation to the commission's growing caseload.
For taxpayers, however, the central issue goes beyond the arrests. The Ksh1.57 billion PROFIT case raises uncomfortable questions about how public money could allegedly continue moving through a programme that had been closed years earlier and why the controls designed to prevent such a scheme did not stop it sooner.
The eventual prosecution will have to establish who created the account, who authorised the transactions, who benefited from the money, and whether the alleged fraud involved a wider network inside and outside government.
