Barclays Bank employees on DCIs radar after Ksh.14M heist

Barclays Bank employees on DCIs radar after Ksh.14M heist

The Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti has confirmed that Barclays Bank employees may have taken part in the Ksh.14million heist at different branches.

On Thursday, the DCI boss said his team would hand over the investigation file, that links the employees to the crime, over to the Prosecutor’s office.

“What happened at Barclays Bank is what we call constructive robbery which is a type of theft committed by employees of an organisation….

“Look at the precision and exactly what was targeted. We are talking about a place that has CCTV cameras. However, those cameras were smeared with some substance,” he said.

According to him, the cameras would have been be used to trigger an alarm elsewhere but had been interfered with.

“Somebody was, most likely, monitoring what was happening because they had a purpose,” Kinoti added.

Cybercrime detectives have since indicated that they suspect the robbers may have jack-potted the ATMs to split money.

The Jackpot technique is described as electronic interference of an ATM machine, where hackers can command it to release all its content.

Head of Cyber Security at Internet Solutions Kenya Dr. Bright Mawudor also confirmed that such a sophisticated heist can only be effected when well-coordinated with insiders at the bank.

On Thursday, the DCI also thanked the British Government for its contribution and partnership in boosting security in Kenya.

“They have consistently & generously worked closely with us to ensure that we have the right capacity & training to combat terrorism activities….Through support from both the local and international communities by way of sharing intelligence, we have been able to deter several terrorist incidences and contain some,” he said.

British High Commissioner Nic Hailey, who had accompanied the DCI and Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji for a function in Mombasa, echoed the sentiments saying the partnership is to tackle shared threats.

During an earlier interview with a local radio station, the British envoy said the UK is providing expert assistance to help tackle corruption in Kenya

“….through a framework agreement we will repatriate proceeds of corruption found in the UK,” he said adding that expert help is needed to handle ‘complicated theft’

On his part, DPP Haji pledged continued support to community-based justice centres.

They were speaking during the ground breaking ceremony of the the Anti – Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) construction site and later at the launch of the new Women Social Justice Centre in Mombasa.

The ATPU center is expected to serve the Coast region in combating terrorism-related crimes.

Tags:

BARCLAYS BANK

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories