Customer Loses Sh2.2M In Theft Masterminded By Co-Op Bank Employee

A technology specialist in one of the banks in the country has been accused of revealing the secret of the account of a customer who lost Sh2.2 million.

Mr Simon Sirere Seno, a technology affairs officer at the Cooperative bank, was charged together with Harrisson Mwaura Njoroge for stealing Sh2.2 million from Mrs Nancy Nyambura Kihanya’s account.

Mr. Seno, Njoroge and Barack Ochieng Aluoch who did not appear in court, were charged with participating in crime by visiting many Cooperative Bank branches to steal using online technology.

Mr. Seno and Njoroge were accused of stealing Sh2.2 million from Ms Kihanya’s account located at the Cooperative Kayole branch in Nairobi.

The two who were charged before senior judge Gilbert Shikwe denied the six charges.

In the charge of conspiracy to rob a bank and theft of Sh2.2 million, Mr. Seno and Njoroge were charged together, but Mr Seno was charged alone for disrupting the computer systems of the Cooperative bank.

Mr Seno denied the four charges of disrupting the bank’s machinery and taking Ms Kihanya’s account information and giving it to Njoroge.

Following the disclosure of the account information, Sh2,210,241.50 was stolen from Mrs. Kihanya’s account.

The court was asked to release the two on bail, but the prosecutor Mrs. Judy Koech, objected, saying that the case will be joined with another one heard by senior judge Mrs. Martha Nanzushi.

Mr Shikwe ordered the case against Mr. Seno and Njoroge to be mentioned in front of Ms Nanzushi and the day of hearing should be set aside for the defendants to ask for bail.

The judge was informed by the lawyer representing the two that they were arrested on Thursday shortly after the hearing of another case against them.

“These two were arrested when they were leaving the court hearing another case against them. They were detained at the police station and brought to court without even returning to their homes,” the lawyer revealed.

The lawyer also told the court that he did not know if the defendants were facing another case.

The two were detained again until they were brought before Ms. Nanzushi to give the direction of the case.