The man at the centre of Sh2 billion fake money syndicate that was smashed at Barclays Bank in Nairobi once jostled for the control of Gor Mahia FC.
Mr Eric Adede, a Nairobi-based businessman-cum-politician, is among six suspects arrested on Tuesday by the Flying Squad officers at Barclays Bank’s Queensway branch.
The fake notes in 100-US-dollar denominations were found hidden in one of the bank’s safe boxes.
Mr Adede unsuccessfully vied for Gor Mahia chairmanship in 2014.
He lost the election after garnering 445 votes behind the current club’s chairman Ambrose Rachier, who got 808 votes.
The man who claimed to own the fake-dollar-haul also tried his luck in the race for Homa Bay Town parliamentary seat in the last general election but lost to Mr Peter Kaluma.
According to the Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti, Adede is believed to be the owner of the safe deposit box in which the fake currency was stashed.
However, other police sources intimated that Mr Adede could have been acting on behalf of some powerful individuals in government.
Other suspects arrested in the swoop by Flying Squad and detectives from DCI are Mr Ahmed Shah, Mr Boaz Ochich, Mr Charles Manzi both said to be bank’s officials, and Ms Elizabeth Muthoni and Ms Irene Wairimu Kimani.
The DCI describes Mr Shah as a “fake investor” whom Mr Adede was using to dupe businesspeople into parting with their hard-earned money.
Mr Ochich and Mr Manzi are said to be Barclays Bank officials. Little is known about the two female suspects, Ms Muthoni and Ms Kariuki.
In a statement, the bank on Tuesday said Mr Adede had concealed fake currency in his personal safe deposit box against bank rules, including restrictions of items that can be held in the box.
“According to the police, the individual in question had concealed the counterfeit banknotes in his personal safe deposit box. This is also against the bank’s rules and regulations,” the bank said.
“The contents of personal safe deposit boxes are not part of the bank’s deposits and are only known to the client; however, these may not include items prohibited in terms of the law.”
The bank said it would cooperate with police to ensure the suspect is brought to justice.
“Barclays Bank of Kenya has already notified its primary regulator, the Central Bank of Kenya, and assured it that it will continue to provide active assistance to the police until the investigation has been completed.”
Safe deposit boxes are offered to clients for the storage of vital documents such as title deeds, logbooks, marriage certificates, insurance policies, jewellery, foreign currency, educational certificates among others.
Last month, police from the Special Crimes Prevention Unit, nabbed fake foreign cash amounting to Sh32 billion in a residential house in Ruiru town.
The large sums of fake foreign currency seized by the police in recent months have raised concerns on whether Nairobi could be turning into a base for transnational fake cash cartels.