The DusitD2 terror attack is still fresh in Kenyans’ minds. The lives lost are still yet to be forgotten, and the memories are still fresh! The answered question remains, who was behind the attack and who financed it?
The latest details have revealed that thirty million shillings withdrawn from DTB Bank in Eastleigh was used to finance the Dusit terror attack that killed at least 21 people last month.
DPP Nordin Haji on Monday told MPs the money was sent to al Shabaab headquarters in Jilib town, Somalia.
Haji told the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee that the bank management tried to influence his office not press charges in connection with financing the January 15 attack.
The committee is chaired by Baringo North MP William Cheptumo.
Haji accused the bank of failure to report huge and irregular withdrawal to the Central Bank of Kenya as required.
CBK guidelines require that banks report any transaction beyond Sh1 million. “They ( the bank’s management) have been running around trying to influence us so as not to charge them,” Haji said.
“This money was not just going anywhere, it was going to Jilib town, which is the headquarters of al-Shabaab.”
The suspect behind the transactions was also involved in a suspicious M-Pesa transaction with his daily mobile transactions hitting Sh2 million through numerous mobile numbers.
“DTB failed to report suspicious transactions. This was a transaction that took place in their branch in Eastleigh yet they know that banks have been cautioned to be extra careful in some areas.”
Branch manager Sophia Mbogo on Wednesday was charged with aiding and abetting the Dusit attack. She was accused of failing to report transactions involving Sh34,736,550 suspected to have funded the attack.
Mbogo is facing an additional charge of knowingly failing to report suspicion regarding proceeds of crime in which the cash was received and withdrawn at the bank.
The transactions were carried out from December 4 last year to January 5. She denied the charges before chief magistrate Francis Andayi.
Haji said it was not the first time the bank had abetted fictitious transactions, citing previous cases where suspects in the National Youth Service scandals transacted huge sums through the bank.
Haji was meeting the MPs about the 2019-20 Budget Policy Statement. He said inadequate funding could cripple crucial activities of his office. The office has requested r Sh4.9 billion against an allocation of Sh3.03 billion.