- A suspect was nabbed along Lantana Road in Westlands after a company flagged the error
- A processing blunder during a routine batch of 74 payments saw millions land in the wrong account
- The suspect now faces charges under cybercrime and money laundering laws after the ODPP reviewed the case
Nancy Odindo is a Current Affairs Editor at TUKO.co.ke, covering general news. Odindo has over six years of journalism experience and joined TUKO.co.ke in 2023.
A Nairobi man is in police custody after allegedly spending millions of shillings that a company inadvertently transferred into his bank account, in a case that has drawn a sharp public warning from detectives.
Source: Facebook
The suspect was arrested on Saturday, October 24, 2026, by detectives from the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit (BFIU). Officers picked him up along Lantana Road in Westlands, Nairobi.
How the error unfolded?
According to a statement posted by DCI, the matter traces back to November 18, 2025, when a company was processing a batch of 74 electronic payments.
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One of those transactions was a legitimate rent payment of KSh 72,000 owed to the suspect for the company's Suswa shop.
During processing, however, a clerical error resulted in an additional KSh 6,744,354, funds intended for an entirely different company, being deposited into his account alongside the rent.
When the company moved to recover the wrongly transferred money, the suspect had already used it.
"When the company sought to reclaim its funds, the suspect didn’t just acknowledge the windfall; he allegedly spent the excess cash with no remorse," DCI said.
What charges are the suspect facing?
Detectives compiled a case file and forwarded it to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), which reviewed the matter and directed that charges be filed.
He now faces two counts: intentional withholding of an erroneously delivered payment, contrary to Section 35 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, No. 5 of 2018, and money laundering, contrary to Section 3(b)(1) as read with Section 16(1)(a) of the Proceeds of Crime and Money Laundering Act, Cap 59A.
He underwent processing on Sunday, 25 October, as he awaited arraignment.
"The DCI warns that money mistakenly credited to your account does not become yours simply because it is within your reach. The law demands its return, and those who deliberately withhold and spend such funds will face the full force of the law," DCI warned.
Kenyan graduate arrested over alleged KSh 57.5m theft
Previously, TUKO.co.ke reported about Evans Nandwa, the Kenyan IT graduate who was arrested over an alleged KSh 57.5 million fraud at NCBA’s Rwanda subsidiary.
Source: Facebook
Investigators said suspicious code changes were made just three minutes after Nandwa received legitimate backend access.
The alleged transactions went undetected for several days until a reconciliation revealed the discrepancy.
Source: TUKO.co.ke