It was an early Christmas gift for former Family Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Munyiri after a Nairobi court acquitted him of allegations of helping National Youth Service (NYS) suspect Josephine Kabura launder Sh791 million using three bank accounts at the bank. The case was dropped for lack of evidence.

While acquitting Munyiri, Milimani Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi said the law does not allow the CEO of a bank to be a cash reporting officer as the prosecution had argued.

Andayi acquitted Munyiri and two others after the prosecution failed to prove the money laundering allegations against them.

The magistrate held that Family Bank was responsible for the suspicious transactions that were made by Kabura after its Anti-money Laundering Compliance manager Charles Kamau Thiongo failed to report to Central Bank of Kenya as was required.

The court found Thiongo guilty of the three offences of abetting and aiding Kabura to launder money through the bank and failing to report suspicious transactions.

The magistrate sentenced Thiongo to pay a total fine of Sh750,000 and in default to serve three years in jail.

Andayi concurred with Munyiri’s lawyer Kioko Kilukumi’s that no evidence was presented by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to show that the CEO of the bank was responsible to report the suspicious huge transactions made by Kabura.

“I find that Munyiri and his two co-accused persons were not given any role of reporting the suspicious transactions by their employer. According to evidence placed before me, the role was bestowed on Thiongo who l find was capable of committing the offences,” Andayi states in the ruling.

The bank which was also an accused person in the matter, was discharged from the case in May 1, 2019 after the court fined it Sh 64.5 million following pleading guilty to six counts of failing to report suspicious transactions made Kabura.