Bank manager denies aiding Dusit terror attack
Diamond Trust Bank Eastleigh Branch Manager Sophia Njoki Mbogo when she appeared in a Nairobi court on February 20, 2019. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
She was accused of committing the offenses jointly with others who were not arraigned in court.
Ms Mbogo was arrested on January 24 and the court allowed police to hold her for 30 days alongside seven other terror suspects.
A bank manager accused of aiding and abetting Dusit D2 hotel complex terror attack was Wednesday charged in court.
While appearing before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi, Ms Sophia Njoki Mbogo, who is Diamond Trust Bank’s Eastleigh branch manager, pleaded not guilty to three offenses.
She was charged with failure to report suspicious activity regarding proceeds of crime and anti-money laundering, aiding and abetting commission of a terrorism act as well as failure to report a suspicious cash transaction amounting to Sh34.7 million.
'SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY'
“Being the branch manager, knowingly failed to report a suspicious activity involving transactions carried out at the said bank and branch to Sh34, 736, 550,” the court heard.
Prosecution told the court Ms Mbogo committed the offenses between December 4, 2018 and January 5.
According to the prosecution, she failed to stop transactions of the monies yet the required withdrawals was not supposed to exceed Sh100,000 as per the proceeds of crime and anti-money laundering act.
She was accused of committing the offenses jointly with others who were not arraigned in court.
Ms Mbogo was arrested on January 24 and the court allowed police to hold her for 30 days alongside seven other terror suspects.
She claimed the bank does not have any accounts with any known terror suspects, but police accused her of allowing huge sums of monies to be cashed within a very short period of time without raising a flag.
The court is set to hear and determine her request to be freed on bond pending trial.
