The Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti is considering charges against officials from five banks including individuals placed at crucial departments, whom he believes could have prevented suspicious transactions by terrorists if they acted professionally.
The Anti-Terror Police Unit is focusing its attention on the Central Bank of Kenya, the Financial Reporting Center, Diamond Trust Bank and Safaricom over the Dusit attack on January 15 that claimed 21 lives.
The specific charges will be determined by the evidence and culpability at each institution, police investigating officers said.
“We will go for each and every person from the banking sector to the mobile money transfer networks that were lax in their work,” Kinoti told the Star yesterday.
He did not state how soon the arrests would be made and charges filed, though highly placed sources said the investigations were complete and the files have been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji for approval.
The transactions were made at DTB Eastleigh branch. Branch manager Sophia Mbogo has already been arrested by the Antiterror Police Unit after she failed to report suspicious transactions after Nur withdrew the cash.
Kenya’s world-famous mobile money is powered by mobile money networks, banks and hundreds of thousands of agents all around the country.
Know-Your-Customer prudential guidelines are supposed to be employed at every stage by every link in the chain.
The Central Bank supervises banks through its supervision department while the Financial Reporting Centre is mandated to look into suspicious transactions following notification by the banks.
Law enforcement agencies are trying to unravel the money movement system to prevent similar transactions in the future.
