NCBA manager Philip Rotich held over Sh47m fraud at Kisii branch

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has asked a Nairobi court to grant it orders to continue detaining a senior employee of NCBA Group over fraudulent loss of at least Sh47 million. 

Mr Philip Kiprono Rotich, who has served as NCBA’s employee for 10 years, is suspected to have committed the crime between November 2023 and October 2024 when he served as assistant operations manager at the bank’s Kisii branch. 

The crime was reported to police on October 14, 2024, by the bank’s head of security Noah Cheptumo, who said the fraud was committed on customer accounts.

Mr Rotich is being investigated over alleged possession of proceeds of crime contrary to section 4 (C) as read together with section 16.1 (A) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act Cap 59B Laws of Kenya. 

Further, he is being investigated over a conspiracy to commit a felony, forgery, uttering a false document, and stealing contrary to various sections of the penal code. 

The suspect, it is alleged in court papers, would receive instructions from the clients to transfer funds internally through bank transfer, but would divert the funds and credit the funds into different bank accounts of his associates. 

“It is my prayer to this honourable court to remand the respondent at Kileleshwa Police Station for 10 days to allow the applicant to complete the investigations, collect the documents, record statements, verify the identity of the suspects involved, and prefer charges to the respondent,” the ODPP’s notice of motion reads in part. 

A ruling on the application by the ODPP is to be rendered on Wednesday. The suspect has been detained at Kileleshwa Police Station since Monday. 

Some of the affected clients of the bank, according to court documents, are Neel Gudkas (Sh14.7 million), a Catholic Diocese (Sh9 million), and a bishop (Sh9 million). 

The ODPP asserts that the 10 days would allow detectives to collect specimen signatures for the transaction slips of the affected bank accounts in the period that the fraud was committed and subject it to forensic document analysis. 

“There is need for the investigating officer after the establishment of the paper trail to asset trace the properties of the respondents together with his accomplices deemed to be proceeds of crime,” a supporting affidavit sworn by an officer from the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit reads in part. 

Mr Cheptumo told investigators that the suspect took “advantage of trust bestowed on him by big clients of the branch and his colleagues”, to orchestrate the heist.

At the tail-end of the fraudulent transactions, the DPP says, it would be him receiving the amounts at his personal bank account held at Kenya Commercial Bank, personal salary account at NCBA, and through mobile banking platforms. 

“The investigating officer vehemently believes that the respondent together with others at large schemed and orchestrated the fraud to siphon funds from big clients at the NCBA Kisii branch,” reads the notice of motion. 

Investigators are also pursuing leads as to how the suspect used the details of his friends to open other bank accounts where he would credit the money. 

One account of that kind was used to receive credits worth Sh4 million before the funds would later be transferred to the suspect’s cohort’s bank accounts. 

The court has been informed that one of the said friends of the suspect has disputed ever opening such an account. 

The suspect is currently on suspension but the ODPP avers in court papers that he (Mr Rotich) continues to defraud unsuspecting clients of their hard-earned money.

“The bank continues to receive more complaints from its clients in the Kisii branch. There is fear that the amount might go higher as the investigations continue. The respondent while on suspension continues to fraud customers, taking the advantage that the customer still knows he is on duty,” the application reads. 

NCBA bank says that it is concerned about its image and clientele base, thus urging the court to detain the suspect as the collection of more concrete evidence continues.