(Nairobi) – In April 2023, investigators allege that an individual compromised Equity Bank’s payment system as well as its online fraud detection mechanisms. According to the investigators, this person manipulated the security protections of several businesses that were registered to receive Equity Bank-issued credit cards.
The alterations to these businesses’ security protections reportedly allowed the withdrawal of funds without raising red flags. Over three months, fake credit cards were allegedly used to make payments to these three businesses. However, investigators discovered that no goods or services were delivered, despite millions of shillings being transferred to the businesses from Equity Bank’s credit card payment account. This indicates a slow and deliberate theft of funds from the bank.
By the time Equity Bank realized what had happened and reported the case to the police, the bank had lost a total of KSh 322.1 million (About UGX 9 Billion)
Communication between the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) revealed how the stolen funds were moved through various bank accounts, with some of the money ending up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Investigators have recommended that four suspects face charges. Their names have been withheld for legal reasons.
The complaint states that between April and July 2023, three businesses, whose names are withheld, each manipulated Equity Bank’s fraud protection system, known as CyberSource, by downgrading security from 3D to 2D. This allowed the businesses to use fake credit cards to fraudulently obtain Sh322,154,851 directly from the bank’s payment account.
The money received through this fraudulent scheme was later transferred to a single account at Middle East Bank, managed by a company associated with one of the suspects. A Kenyan-British dual national, who is a partner of the three businesses, is accused of moving the stolen funds to a private company in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
In April this year, the DCI recommended to the ODPP that the three businesses and their associate face charges of theft, money laundering, and online fraud.
