Lawyer Esther Bitutu Kadiki ran an elaborate scheme through which she siphoned Sh1,499,465,831 from Equity Bank, an affidavit sworn by a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has alleged.
According to the affidavit sworn by Inspector Chrispinus Sore Shibanda who is attached to the DCI’s Banking Fraud Investigations Unit, Bitutu operated a system that included the use of cryptocurrencies, bulk withdrawals, and money transfers to other banks to siphon the money out of Equity Bank. The DCI alleged that this took place between May 1 2024 and July 31, 2024.
“The money was made from the bank’s internal Salaries Remittance General Ledger Account Number 0001*100774** and credited to several non-Equity Bank (Kenya) Limited accounts and in all instances, fictitious narrations regarding the actual source of funds were made in the bank’s systems in order to conceal or disguise the nature, source, location, disposition or movement of such funds,” the prosecution stated in court papers.
The prosecution alleged that Bitutu had overseen the recruitment of a team that would take part in the scheme. Apparently, the transfer of funds from Equity was the last phase of the intricate system that had been set up and operated by Bitutu, the DCI alleged.
“[Bitutu] is a member of a larger organized group that is well-structured with every individual assigned his or her duties in order to facilitate the commissioning and omission of the crimes starting from recruitment of the targeted bank staff, penetrating of the bank system and identifying, recruiting both natural, artificial proxy persons and, or companies whose accounts would be used to launder the proceeds of crime,” Shibanda, who is the investigating officer in the case states in the affidavit.
“These fraudulent activities benefitted her directly… in that she acted as a recruiter of the companies and or persons used as proxies and , or agents whose accounts were used to launder the stolen funds; she played part in drafting business transaction agreements between companies on non-existing business activities which agreements were used to explain the source and or for the justification of the large cash withdrawals from the benefiting accounts.”
Shibanda further alleged that investigations into accounts owed by Bitutu showed that Sh38 million was deposited into two local bank accounts. One account was registered under Inforide Point Limited which is a company that Bitutu co-owns with her husband. The other was in an account that is fully controlled and owned by Bitutu herself.
The detective claimed told the court that Bitutu had provided agreements between her companies and with others which have been linked with the transfer of over Sh400 million.
Bitutu had first been summoned to present herself to the Banking Fraud Investigation Office in October 2024. She was arrested on May 5, 2025 when she presented herself.
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In the early days of this investigation, it was reported that Equity Bank’s Internal Control Department had detected a series of suspicious transactions at the bank’s salaries account within the window in which the money was siphoned out. The transactions involved 47 withdrawals. These transactions involved money transfers from the salaries account to multiple other accounts in other banks.
Whenever money is sent from one bank account to another, the systems on each side communicate details of transactions. These details include names of the individuals or entities exchanging funds, amounts involved and the integrity of the transactions. In the case of the 47 withdrawals and transfers, this correspondence was missing.
The correspondence credits were missing from the Equity Bank side where they were being sent from. This raised suspicions that led the control team to review the transactions. Upon review, it was quickly established that Equity Bank had been scammed Sh1.5 billion.
