Police arrest four suspects as probe into KUSCCO scandal begin
The arrests follow the receipt of a forensic audit report by Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja from Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya on Tuesday.
The National Police Service, through the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), has intensified its probe into the Kenya Union of Savings & Credit Co-operatives Ltd. (KUSCCO) financial misappropriation scandal, leading to the arrest of four individuals.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the service confirmed the identity of the four as Atieno Omolo, George Ochola Owino, Mercy Njeru and George Magutu Mwangi,
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"Three of the suspects were apprehended in different locations within Nairobi, with the fourth one being nabbed in Nyeri. The suspects will face multiple charges, including conspiracy to defraud contrary to Section 317 of the Penal Code, stealing by directors or officers of companies contrary to Section 282 of the Penal Code, and making a false document contrary to Section 347(a) as read with Section 349 of the Penal Code," read the statement in part.
The arrests follow the receipt of a forensic audit report by Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja from Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya on Tuesday.
"Investigators will go through this report thoroughly. We will thoroughly investigate every aspect. Those involved in the mismanagement of SACCO members' money will face the full force of the law," said Kanja.
The forensic audit, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), exposed shocking financial mismanagement within KUSCCO, revealing that financial statements had been signed by a deceased auditor.
Additionally, the report identified 23 top managers as key players in the scandal.
Further scrutiny revealed that the agreed-upon commission rate of one per cent was fraudulently increased to three per cent by executives, allowing them to syphon significant sums of money under the guise of commission payments.
The report also identified executives who received advance payments in the millions of shillings without any supporting business transactions.
In response, CS Oparanya promised a broadened approach to curb financial misappropriation in the sector.
"We are currently investigating other SACCOS, and we will soon forward their cases to the relevant authorities," he said.
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