By THE DISPATCH DIGITAL REPORTER
One of five accountants alleged to have conspired to steal over Ksh 200 million from four logistics companies has been charged in a Mombasa court.
Robert Wangila Wandera has been accused of stealing Ksh 200,585,052 from Igsar Group Company Limited, Husaaba Trading Company Limited, Sunova International Limited, and Inland Logistics.
He faces charges including conspiracy to defraud, theft by servant, false accounting, forgery, uttering a false document, giving false information to a public servant, and money laundering.
Principal Magistrate Hon. Gladys Ollimo heard that the accused, together with others not present in court, conspired to defraud the four firms through the fraudulent withdrawal of cash from Absa Bank Kenya Limited account number 2039703583 using cheques from Bwanyange Company Limited.
Wandera was also charged with theft by servant while employed as an accountant with the logistics firms.
He faced an additional charge of false accounting, which Principal Prosecution Counsel Alex Gituma told the court involved making false entries into the companies’ accounts to show that Bwanyange Limited had paid over Ksh 200 million to the four companies for goods, foreign exchange trading remittances, and other transactions.
The accused was also charged with conspiracy, along with others not before the court, to defraud Igsar Group Company Limited, Husaaba Trading Company Limited, Sunova International Limited, and Inland Logistics, all Mombasa-based companies, of Ksh 200,585,052 through the fraudulent withdrawal of cash from Absa Bank Kenya Limited account number 2039703583 using Bwanyange Company Limited cheques.
Wandera was also accused of forging the signature of one Thomas Evans Huntly in a letter of acceptance dated 20 May 2020, purporting it to be genuine acceptance of his appointment as a director of Bwanyange Company Limited.
Hon. Ollimo also heard that the suspect uttered forged minutes of Bwanyange Limited signed by Thomas Evans Huntly, which were lodged using the E-citizen account of Anderson Kombe Hare.
Wandera is further charged with giving false information to Business Registration Officer Ann Kanake by presenting a letter that omitted Thomas Evan Huntly as a director and shareholder in Bwanyange Company Limited.
He also faces charges of money laundering involving the unlawful disposal of Ksh 200,585,052 at ABSA Bank Limited in Mombasa, suspected to be stolen from the four logistics firms and the proceeds of crime.
The accused denied all the charges and was released on a bond of Ksh 2.5 million with a surety of the same amount.
The court also summoned his two co-accused, Alex Mutemi Mwenga and Barnabas Agar, to take their plea on the charges.
Two other suspects, Pavan Kentan Ramji Shah and Anderson Kombe Hare, were charged two months ago.