Former insurance firm officer charged over Sh89.5 million fraud
A former credit control officer at an insurance company has been charged over the alleged theft of Sh89.58 million in a suspected insider fraud scheme spanning seven years.
Bernard Kariuki Ngugi was arrested and arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts on Friday, October 23, following investigations by detectives from the Banking Fraud Investigations Unit (BFIU).
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the suspect allegedly abused his privileged access to his former employer’s financial systems to divert millions of shillings to three companies that had no legitimate business relationship with the insurer.
Investigators established that the alleged fraud occurred between 2018 and November 2025, involving Auris General Merchants Ltd, Donbitz Global Limited and Pedram Global Limited.
The three entities were allegedly irregularly introduced into the company’s payment system, enabling the diversion of corporate funds to accounts that were not entitled to receive the money.
Investigations revealed that Sh35.27 million was allegedly channelled through Auris General Merchants Ltd, while Donbitz Global Limited received Sh32.68 million. A further Sh21.63 million was reportedly routed through Pedram Global Limited.
Detectives also established that withdrawals and transfers were conducted in circumstances suspected to have been designed to conceal the origin and movement of the funds.
Following the investigations, the case file was forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), which concurred with the recommendation to charge the suspect with theft by servant, money laundering and other related offences.
Ngugi pleaded not guilty to the charges when he appeared before the court.
He was released on a bond of Sh2 million or an alternative cash bail of Sh800,000.
The case will be mentioned for pre-trial directions on November 10, 2026.
The DCI said it remained committed to investigating complex financial crimes and pursuing individuals suspected of abusing positions of trust to facilitate the loss of public or private funds.
The allegations against the accused remain unproven, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by a court of law
