In 2024, fraudsters stole Sh1.5 billion from Equity Bank through sophisticated wire fraud, triggering a high-profile criminal investigation into one of the biggest bank heists in Kenya’s history.
The investigation into the theft executed between May and July 2024 thrust Ruth Muthoni Kamau, who was accused among the masterminds of the fraud, into the public limelight. Until then, little was known about the woman who was married to a city businessman from whom she divorced on March 23 this year after a troubled marriage.
Ms Muthoni was questioned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on claims she allegedly pocketed Sh800 million out of Sh1.5 billion. It was claimed she had received the loot through two of her companies—Goodmans Fresh Ltd and Blue Kenfresh Ltd—her personal bank accounts, and some in cash from other suspects.
Ms Muthoni would later be released on Sh300,000 police bail, while another suspect, Geoffrey Kiragu, a cousin to her ex-husband, was freed on Sh100,000 police bail. In public, nothing much has come out of the investigation into the bank theft since, but Ms Muthoni is back in the spotlight with another high-profile fraud case that has revived the 2024 heist. She is entangled in a dispute with a majority shareholder of a microfinance firm who accuses her of attempting to seize control of the institution through proxies, allegedly to exploit its network to launder cash.
A review by the Nation of classified documents, email correspondence, court filings and interviews with insiders lifts the lid off the bitter fight for vast properties, including control of millions in company shares, luxury villas and high-end vehicles. The fierce battles point to a falling-out between Ms Muthoni and proxies.
Court documents in Nation’s possession show Ms Muthoni and Joel Mwangi Wainaina have been sued at the High Court in Kiambu by Geoffrey Kariuki Gathimbu, the majority shareholder of Fanikisha microfinance firm. The institution’s founding director is Mr Geoffrey Mboo.
In the lawsuit filed on August 8, Mr Gathimbu recounts that early this year, Mr Wainaina expressed interest in buying a minority stake in Fanikisha. Mr Gathimbu subsequently incorporated Mr Wainaina into the company’s registry as a co-director with 49 per cent shares while he retained 51 per cent.
In court papers, Mr Gathimbu has not revealed how much Mr Wainaina invested in the financial institution to secure the 49 per cent stake, but sources at the DCI’s Banking Fraud Investigations Unit put the figure at Sh478 million.
After the transaction, Mr Gathimbu says Mr Wainaina opened a bank account at NCBA under Fanikisha’s name. “Immediately thereafter, the first defendant (Mr Wainaina) completely absconded from all corporate assignments. He has never attended board meetings or presented himself to the company offices,” he says in court papers.
Mr Gathimbu has told the court that he was surprised to learn that Mr Wainaina was a proxy investor for Ms Muthoni and alleged he (Mr Wainaina) has illegally made her the chief executive officer of Fanikisha.
“I recently discovered that the first defendant was not acting in good faith. He was acting as a fraudulent, un-appointed front and proxy for the second defendant, Ruth Muthoni Kamau.
“The second defendant has aggressively and illegally forced herself into the second plaintiff’s premises. She has hijacked our digital platforms and changed corporate server access tokens. She is currently operating illegally as a self-styled, de facto chief executive officer of the second plaintiff (Fanikisha Microfinance Bank),” Mr Gathimbu says in court papers.
Businesswoman Ruth Muthoni Kamau whom the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit linked to the theft of Sh1.5 billion from Equity Bank on July 10, 2024.
Photo credit: Pool
“The second defendant (Ms Muthoni), who is a prime suspect sought by the DCI for an independent Sh1.5 billion bank heist, used this illicit proxy channel to capture the digital networks, administrative codes, and servers of the second plaintiff (Fanikisha Microfinance Bank), establishing a rogue, unconstitutional administrative regime as ‘CEO’.
“The plaintiffs maintain that unless this court rescinds the share transaction, orders the rectification of the company registry, and grants permanent injunctions, the first (Mr Wainaina) and second (Ms Muthoni) defendants will systematically strip the assets of the company, launder funds, and cause total corporate insolvency,” Ms Gathimbu adds as he asks the court to freeze the account opened by Mr Wainaina in Fanikisha’s name.
But Justice Njoki Mwangi on August 12 did not issue orders to freeze the account, noting Mr Gathimbu had not provided evidence on the bank account’s signatories and up-to-date statements to show the amounts held.
The judge directed that the respondents submit their written submissions within 10 days and ordered the matter be mentioned on October 7. On August 10, Fanikisha wrote to the NCBA legal team, urging the freezing of funds held in the account under the microfinance’s name.
Fanikisha’s lawyers cited credible information that Ms Muthoni was attempting to tender resignation letters purported to be from Mr Mboo and Mr Gathimbu alongside board resolutions aimed at illegally altering the bank account mandates.
Fanikisha further cautioned NCBA against trading with Ms Muthoni, informing the lender that she is a principal suspect in Equity Bank’s Sh1.5 billion heist and that she may be trying to utilise the micro-lender’s clean infrastructure as a criminal shield to launder the cash. “Our clients, Geoffrey Kariuki Gathimbu and Geoffrey Mboo, have not resigned from their positions as the founding director, chief executive officer, or majority shareholder of the company.
“Any document asserting his resignation or authorising a change in signing mandates is a criminal forgery … Refuse to honour any withdrawal, debit, or electronic transfer requests initiated by the first defendant (Mr Wainaina) and second defendant (Ms Muthoni) or their proxies,” Fanikisha lawyers wrote to NCBA.
Mr Gathimbu claims the account opened at NCBA under Fanikisha’s name was used to lure third party deposits, including Sh2.3 million from one Edward Kipkoech Kogo.
Mr Kogo has sued Ms Muthoni in another matter, accusing her of attempting to fraudulently transfer his two high-end vehicles worth Sh50 million into her name. They include a 2022 Range Rover Vogue and a Toyota Lexus Model -Lx450D.
Mr Kongo has told the court that he had a romantic relationship with Ms Muthoni until early this year when they fell out over irreconcilable differences.
He has alleged a plot to defraud him through forgery and manipulation of the National Transport and Safety Authority system. He has sued Ms Muthoni, the NTSA and Windsor Motors Limited, among other interested parties.
Ms Muthoni and Mr Kogo are also fighting over ownership of a luxury home, raising questions about whether one of the lovers was holding multimillion-shilling property in trust for the other, only to be shortchanged after a falling-out. In the Environment and Land Court case, Ms Muthoni and her father, Paul Kamau Karanja, have sued Mr Kogo through his company, Midaga Insurance Brokers Kenya Limited, where he is a sole director.
They seek to recover a house in Runda worth Sh90 million. The suit property is known as Villa unit No 134 in Five Star Paradise Phase 3 situated on Land Reference Number 12825/196.
In his replying affidavit, Mr Kogo claims Ms Muthoni has been trying to manipulate the conveyance process and insert her father as the registered purchaser of the multimillion-shilling property.
Mr Kogo says he wants to cross-examine Ms Muthoni’s father to establish how he acquired the property. “I have for the last four years known the first plaintiff as a respectable gentleman, a senior citizen with failing health, a man living purely on his pension after retiring as a humble primary school teacher over a decade ago and as such, he does not have resources to procure an asset,” Mr Kogo says in court papers.
He further says that an interim order issued in favour of the plaintiffs on July 17 was obtained through gross misrepresentation.
But more trouble seems to be stalking Ms Muthoni and Wainaina after the entry of two more shareholders of Fanikisha Microfinance—Dr Paul Mucai Gitau and Ashu Kenya Limited. The new shareholders have written to the DCI seeking that Ms Muthoni be investigated over alleged money laundering.
In a letter dated August 28, Dr Gitau, an advocate of the High Court, and Ashu Kenya Limited claim that Ms Muthoni and Mr Wainaina recently took over a shell company, manipulated the registry entries and changed its name to Fanikisha Access Capital Group Limited.
A search in the company registry by the Nation has revealed that Fanikisha Access Capital Group Limited is owned by Mr Wainaina, who is a director and shareholder. It was registered on September 30, 2022.
Mr Gitau and Ashu further claim that illicit funds integrated into Fanikisha Microfinance Limited were immediately diverted to this venture.
“The pleadings and applications in the Kiambu suit establish that the second defendant (Ms Muthoni) is actively under investigation by the DCI for a massive Sh1.5 billion Equity Bank heist.
Having illegally seized de facto control of Fanikisha Microfinance Bank Limited’s digital servers and operations without board approval, she used the complainant to set up unauthorised parallel banking vectors to divert and dissipate third-party funds,” they claim.
They want the DCI Banking Fraud and Investigations Unit to investigate the source of a large sum of money paid in cash by Ms Muthoni to Baraka Credit Limited on April 16, a Sh96 million mansion that Ms Muthoni recently bought, an alleged investment of Sh60 million by Ms Muthoni and Sonara Capital Limited and high-end vehicles that Ms Muthoni owns.
Sonara Capital Limited is owned by Rebecca Waitherero Kamau as a director and shareholder, having been registered on July 1, 2024.
Ms Wainaina, who holds 1, 470 ordinary shares in Fanikisha Microfinance, had sought to block admission of additional directors into the company through a letter to the Registrar of Companies dated August 12.
“Our client is apprehensive that attempts may be made to alter, transfer, delete or otherwise interfere with the company’ directorship, shareholding, beneficial ownership, registered office, portal access/control, statutory records or corporate structure in an irregular manner and without notice to him,” states the letter written by his lawyers.
“This letter is not intended to obstruct any lawful and duly authorised transactions; it is a protective notice to preserve the integrity of the companies’ registry and forestall irregular or fraudulent dealings.”
Following the changes to Fanikisha shareholding, Mr Wainaina wrote again to the registrar on August 21, protesting that despite the caution, an official search now reflected changes to the company’s ownership structure, with the introduction of Strong Towers Ventures Limited (150 shares) and Ashu Kenya Limited (1,050 shares), with Mr Gathimbu’s share reduced by 300.
Equity Bank branch on Kimathi Street, Nairobi County.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
“Essentially, the companies’ registry is not a battleground for clandestine corporate takeovers. It is a statutory public register whose integrity must be protected. A register entry founded upon unsigned draft resolutions, false declarations, non-existent minutes, forged consents or concealed filings is not a lawful corporate act; it is a weaponisation of the public register,” Mr Wainaina claims in the letter by his lawyers.
The letter invited the DCI to open an inquiry into suspected forgery and possible conspiracy to unlawfully alter the ownership of Fanikisha Microfinance Bank Limited. But Dr Gitau’s lawyers wrote to Mr Wainaina’s lawyers on August 28, seeking an apology for the defamatory statements alluding to “corporate hijacking”.
“The entry of Ashu Kenya Limited into the share registry was the product of a direct, lawful share transfer from Geoffrey Kariuki Gathimbu, whose shareholding was reduced from 1,530 to 330 shares. Your client has absolutely no locus standi or proprietary interest to interfere with a third party share transfer that leaves his own holdings entirely untouched,” Dr Gitau’s lawyers wrote.
“The entries were supported by regular corporate minutes and instruments. Your client’s mere denial of knowledge or assertion that he did not sign the minutes constitutes a self-serving allegation that does not invalidate a lawful commercial transaction between other consenting shareholders.”
The investigation into Equity Bank’s Sh1.5 billion heist has not been without controversy, with a detective claiming Ms Muthoni used her powerful connections to force his transfer.
Inspector Bonface Maina Kamau—of the DCI Banking Fraud and Investigations Unit who was investigating Ms Muthoni—claimed he was transferred to Baragoi on October 11, 2024, following a complaint by Ms Muthoni.
Mr Kamau wrote protest letters to DCI boss Mohamed Amin, Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja, the Internal Affairs Unit of the National Police Service and the National Police Service Commission, claiming that his transfer was part of an attempt to scuttle the investigations.
Mr Kamau named two senior DCI officers who he claimed incessantly tried to help Ms Muthoni wriggle out of the investigation. He also claimed that bureaucrats from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions made similar attempts.
The other suspect in the probe, Mr Kiragu, is also not new to controversy. Mr Kiragu has been battling land fraud cases and has been pushing for out-of-court settlements with victims of double allocations. The Nation established that he also founded Tunza Realtors and Bomalink Concepts Limited before he transferred ownership to a family member.
Ms Muthoni and Mr Kiragu have denied any involvement in the Sh1.5 billion heist. Ms Muthoni and Mr Wainaina also declined to comment on the latest accusations involving Fanikisha microfinance.
