Reports Arrum-Tidi Ogonglo in Kisii Town.
SEVERAL commercial banks operating in the Western Kenya towns of Kisii and Migori could have lost millions of shillings through the syndicate of fraudsters and master forgers.
The matter came into surface when a hawk-eyed bank manager in Kisii town last week discovered that a bank document presented to his bank by a primary school teachers from Migori County had fake rubber stamp purporting to have been issued by another bank in Migori showing that the application for loan presented to the bank had forged document and pay-slip.
The teacher a female found herself in a catch 22 when the bank manager summoned the police officers to the bank who cornered the heavily sweating lady teacher and whisked her away.
Her fate remained unclear as it was reported that she had repented her sin and was later released in an unclear circumstances after being detained briefly by the men from the forces of law-reinforcement.
The loan applicant a teacher in Migori County had gone to the bank and requested to be given loan f Kshs 500,000. She was requested to bring her pay-slip and any document showing she had already cleared another loan from another bank based in Migori town.
It was at this juncture that the teacher went back home and brought the documents purported to have been cleared and stamped by the other commercial bank in Migori town. Upon screening and checking the documents, the bank manager discovered that the rubber stamp on them was fake and made in the ‘Jua Kali back streets” prompting to call the police.
Impeccable sources have told us that the scam involved pay-slip scandals have been going on in this region for a longtime, an even some teachers have become instant millionaires after getting the huge sums of money in bank loans. Some of those teachers who have benefited through this scam are reported to have absconded from their job and crossed the border into the neighboring Tanzania, where there is big demand for Kenyan trained teachers.
Others, accord to our source used the money in purchasing sugar cane farmers or bought “Matatus” vehicles. Other re said to have used the money borrowed through this kind of arrangement for building decent homes for their families, and got away Scots-free.
The money obtained through this scam are shared between the owner of the pay-slip used in securing bank loan, and the master forgers, who are said to be operating in an office building in Kisi town and also in Migori town who get large chunk of the money as their fees for the work well-done. The scam is well-orchestrated fraud, though the rubber stamps usually – presented to banks lacked the official banks seal. The fraudsters are also said to be minting thousands from the would be loan applicants whenever the deals are through the applicant get his or her money.
Following last week attempt at fleecing one of the banks of Kshs 500,000 in fake loan deal, banks in the region are now said to have tightened their security and all the document presented for business deals are being subjected to thorough electronic screening.
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