Bank Theft Kenya: Over the Easter holiday, daring robbers stole Sh. 14 million from automated teller machines (ATM) belonging to Barclays Bank of Kenya.
The shocking part of this heist was that the theft did not include and gunfire or break-ins. It was immaculate and appeared to have been well planned an executed. This has now caused investigators to wonder if the theft was an inside job.
The atms located at The Mater Hospital, Mutindwa, and Kenya Cinema were all in good condition. It is only the atm situated at the Kenyatta National Hospital that had signs of tampering.
According to investigators, the robbers had deliberately chosen the atms which were termed as off-site machines to prevent any detection of on-going theft. These atm machines were not hosted next to or inside any Barclays Bank banking hall.
Strikingly, all the atms that were robbed were under the jurisdiction and management of G4S. It has also emerged that the atm at Mutindwa did not have a CCTV system on it, which has further complicated investigations.
It is also believed that the theft was carried out through a form of cyber attack known as ATM jackpotting. If this turns out to be true, it will be one of the first major cases of ATM jackpotting in Kenya.
Nonetheless, the cash spat out by the machine in ATM jackpotting is not tied to the balance of any one bank account, meaning customers will not have their accounts debited.
Reports also say that police are looking for three men who caught by CCTV cameras in the adjacent buildings where the atms were robbed. The three men were in a Toyota Probox.
“In one incident, a young man, estimated to be aged between 25 and 30, is seen dressed in a grey cap and a green T-shirt. He is seen carrying a rucksack that police believe was used to carry the money emptied from a cash machine at The Mater Hospital,” says a report that appeared in a local daily.