Kenyan police probe fake cash racket at a bank
Tuesday March 19 2019
Police officers keep guard outside Barclays Bank of Kenya Queensway Branch in Nairobi in ongoing fake cash investigation on March 19, 2019. PHOTO | VINCENT ACHUKA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Kenyan Flying Squad officers on Tuesday camped at a Barclays Bank branch in Nairobi as they investigated a fake currency syndicate.
Accompanied by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the officers spent hours at the bank following unconfirmed reports that a customer had brought in a haul of fake money.
The head of DCI, Mr George Kinoti, later said that Ksh2 billion ($200 million) in fake US dollars have been found stashed in a client's safe deposit box.
The unnamed client is said to have been keeping fake dollars in one of the bank's safes and would bring potential investors to see his 'largesse'. Police suspected he was on a mission to defraud the businesspeople.
He was cornered on Tuesday morning when he went to the bank.
Operations at Barclays Queensway branch were temporarily disrupted when the officers stormed the banking hall.
"A customer who holds a personal safe deposit box at our Queensway branch was this morning intercepted by police at the branch. Police are currently investigating the contents of his safe deposit box. We are assisting the authorities to investigate this matter fully," the lender said in a statement on Twitter.
The development comes barely a month after detectives from the Special Crimes Prevention Unit seized a huge cache of foreign and local currencies hidden in a residential house in Ruiru, a town 26km north of Nairobi city centre.
The money, amounting to $320 million, had been stacked in at least 20 metallic boxes and included euros, pounds, dollars and Kenyan shilling.
Three suspects — a couple and their female business associate — were arrested and charged in court.