Two former National Bank officials charged with fraud

 

 

Former National Bank chief finance officer Chris Chepkoit and the bank’s former acting chief finance officer, Wyclife Kivunira, at the Milimani Law Courts. [Photo: George Njunge, Standard]

Details have emerged of how senior bank officials colluded with dubious companies to steal millions of shillings from a financial institution.

In some of the instances, a company that was awarded a Sh78 million tender to supply branded furniture to National Bank of Kenya (NBK) had no physical or postal address and was not among the listed prequalified vendors, while some companies were paid even before they were registered.

"...the companies were not genuinely engaging the bank. Even their physical address indicated they were located at Njegi House along Tom Mboya Street but  investigators...discovered they had never had an office in the building," the prosecution said.

Former NBK chief finance officer Chris Chepkoit and former acting chief finance officer Wyclife Kivunira are accused of committing several offences, ranging from conspiracy to defraud the bank and abuse of office. They were charged Tuesday at the Milimani Law Courts.

Mr Chepkoit faced a first count of conspiracy to defraud the bank Sh77,960,240 by awarding a contract to supply branded furniture to Sygoin International Holdings Limited without following procurement procedures.

In another count, he was accused of abuse of office for allegedly paying Cedama International Company Sh21 million for supply of electrical items, assorted furniture, and tiles without following the bank's payment procedures.

"Between July 2014 and April 2015, he breached the trust placed in him as the chief finance officer by authorising the payments and acting in a manner that was not in the best interest of the bank," read the charge sheet.

Mr Kivunira was separately charged with conspiring to defraud NBK of Sh7.8 million.