Widespread claims have come to haunt te Diamond Trust Bank after suspicious transactions revealed that money withdrawn from the bank was used to fund terror-related activities.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji says the lender has been found to have carried out suspicious transactions linked to terrorism.
Haji said that initial investigations reveal that the bank was being used in aiding and abetting terrorism. He said this when he appeared before Members of Parliament on Monday.
The Eastleigh branch manager failed to report cases where the customers withdrew more than Sh50 million in a week .The bank also failed to provide CCTV footage of withdrawals.
One of the rules by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) guidelines is that anyone withdrawing or depositing more than an Sh1 million ($10,000) is required to fill in a special form stating the source of the money, who they are paying or receiving the money from and for what purpose.
ELECTRONIC MEANS
This encourages the use of electronic means which is traceable.
Haji says the daily transaction limit of Sh1 million imposed by the CBK is crucial in dealing with criminal activities.
Investigators are in possession of information showing that some of the funds withdrawn from DTB, Eastleigh Branch were wired to Somalia and Syria to finance terror activities. These include the January 15 terror attack at DusitD2 complex in Nairobi, where 21 people lost their lives.
The DTB Eastleigh branch manager Sophia Njoki Mbogo was charged in connection with the 14 Riverside attack.
She was charged with failure to report suspicious activity regarding proceeds of crime and anti-money laundering, aiding and abetting terrorism, as well as failure to report suspicious transactions amounting to Sh34.7 million. She denied the charges. The trial continues.