Staff arrested, linked to Sh1.5m stolen from Kitui financial institution

Five employees of a financial institution in Kitui County have been arrested in connection with the theft of Sh1.5 million.

Police recovered Sh360,000 from two of the suspects' homes believed to be part of the money stolen from Financial Service Association (FSA).

Kitui Central OCPD, Waqo Abduba said the crime was committed at Mutune FSA’s branch in Kitui Central on Friday night after the suspects allegedly accessed the safe by digging a tunnel.

The OCPD said initial investigations pointed to an inside job because the stolen money was not put in the strong safe.

He said detectives raided the homes of the five suspects where Sh260,000 and Sh100,000 was found

“We have made a positive move by arresting five of the branch officials and recovering Sh360,000 in two of the suspects. They will be arraigned in court to face charges of breaking and stealing,” the OCPD said.

Financial services associations are rural community-level member based semi-informal financial institutions, that are a hybrid of savings and credit cooperative organizations (SACCOs) and microfinance institutions (MFIs).