Caption: Equity CEO Dr. James Mwangi who is now being accused of stealing money from an account holder. For those who may not be in the know, Equity Bank is one of the most corrupt financial institutions in the country. The old men running that financial institution are thieves of the highest order.
A story is told of how former bank COO Julius Kipngetich was the boss at the Kenya Wildlife Service. Kipngetich influenced a tender for Equity to run the collection of rates and charges at the then Narok County Council, rumoured to run into the billions. The cartel involved current Narok County Governor Samuel Tunai.
Kipngetich was rewarded with the job at Equity Bank due to his skill at maneuvering that deal.
James Mwangi and his equally corrupt Chairman Peter Munga who are highly glorified by Bribed business journalists are now eyeing a hostile takeover of Uchumi Supermarkets where Kipngetich was planted to oversee the process.
If you think that these are delusions I'm creating, picture this. Peter Munga is a proprietor of Pioneer Schools in Muranga County, Maragua Constituency. The school wasn't his initially, but owned by another individual who was unable to complete paying his debt. The debt was as a result of fictitious accumulation of charges done purposely by Munga to forcefully acquire the school.
James Mwangi and Peter Munga are now said to be eyeing the forceful acquisition of Thika Greens Limited, as the company is crippling with debt.
But perhaps the most daring act of impunity was Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi being Bribed by Chinese fugitive Wenjie Li aka “Mr. James” to withdraw funds from an account under court-order.
On 25th June 2015, a court order was issued in Court No. 40, Case No. Misc. 264/15 that froze the account number 1470263645797 of Catham Properties Limited, Yaya Center. The order was applied by Guo Dong, who owns 85% of Catham Properties.
But as former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga once conceded that Kenya is a bandit-economy, James Mwangi went ahead and approved the withdrawal of Kshs. 60 Million in that bank account on 4th May 2016, while the case is still in court and orders to freeze account have never been lifted.
James Mwangi and Peter Munga are very unscrupulous characters, trading with other people’s money and fleecing poor farmers who are predominantly the banks core customer-base. But in Kenya, bribing a few journalists to look good will always ensure that you get away with virtually anything.
This article is a warning to the companies and institutions that bank with Equity Bank. Having larger-than-life pompous directors comes with a great risk, because of conflict of interest. Their work is to moonlight, instigating auctioning of properties attached to their bank, and then acquire it at a throw-away price.
If you think I'm creating my own stories, take a visit to Nairobi West. The Equity Bank branch at the shopping center is located at the house of Daniel Muchoki, an Equity Bank director and proprietor of Summerdale Hotel that's adjacent to the branch.
Now you don't have to be a brain-surgeon to know that it's a conflict of interest for a director of an institution to gain from a bank in that manner. That's the genesis of the banking crisis in Kenya. If we had a Central Bank that functions, and not a glorified priest as Governor, James Mwangi and Peter Munga should be behind bars, not using clients 9 Billion to acquire offshore firms.