A Kisumu court has sentenced three family members to 10 years in prison for their involvement in a Ksh113.2 million fraud scheme targeting Such Enterprises Limited. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) secured the convictions against Christopher Joseph Okal, his brother Vincent Anyumba, and their mother, Grace Minayo Okal. The court found them guilty of money laundering, acquiring and possessing proceeds of crime, and other offences.
The three were convicted by the Kisumu Magistrate’s Court for money laundering contrary to Section 3(a), (b), (i), (ii) and (iii), as read with Section 16(1)(a) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act. Senior Principal Magistrate Fatuma Rashid found the three guilty of all six counts as charged by the Prosecution led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Daniel Karuri and Principal Prosecution Counsel Douglas Moseti.
The court heard that the three knowingly engaged in transactions involving money and property obtained from the theft, with the intention of concealing or disguising its source or ownership. The charges arose from fraudulent diversion of customer payments and wholesale goods worth Sh113.2 million from Such Enterprises Limited in Kisumu on diverse dates between October 2020 and July 2021.
Prosecution told the court that Christopher Joseph Okal, who worked as an accountant at Such Enterprises Limited, manipulated the company’s accounting system by creating fictitious transactions and diverting customer payments to accounts linked to his co-convicts. Evidence presented by Prosecution, including forensic document investigation, showed that Okal used his access privileges to alter records and conceal transactions.
The court heard that customers had been instructed to deposit money for goods into bank and mobile money accounts associated with the convicts rather than the company’s official accounts. An audit report identified Ksh. 113,227,529 that had not been accounted for. The court rejected the convicts’ assertion that the transactions were legitimate business arrangements, finding that the Prosecution evidence demonstrated a coordinated scheme to defraud the company and conceal the proceeds.
In his sentencing remarks, Karuri asked the court to sentence the convicts to at least 10 years for stealing and participating in money-laundering activities linked to the diverted payments. Rashid found the Prosecution had proved their case against the three on all the counts and convicted and sentenced them pursuant to Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The terms will run concurrently.
The convicts have fourteen (14) days within which to appeal both the conviction and the sentence. Okal faced an additional 5-year sentence for stealing by servant contrary to Section 281 and fraudulent false accounting contrary to Section 330(b), and stealing contrary to Section 275 as read with Section 268 of the Penal Code. Okal and Anyumba were each also sentenced to 3 years in prison for stealing contrary to Section 275 as read with Section 268 of the Penal Code.
Key points
- Three family members sentenced to 10 years in prison for Ksh113.2 million fraud.
- Convicts used complex scheme to divert customer payments and conceal proceeds.
- Court rejects convicts' claims of legitimate business arrangements.
