KIGALI - Police on Thursday arrested four people in connection with a scam targeting micro finance institutions and the Commercial Bank of Rwanda (BCR), the acting chief of CID Tony Kuramba confirmed yesterday.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has launched a manhunt to arrest other suspects believed to be at large. The total amount of money stolen was not known by press time but Kuramba confirmed that police had already recovered part of the money.

"We have so far recovered Frw15 million from the suspects,” Kuramba said on the telephone yesterday. Money obtained illegally from micro finance institutions had been deposited with BCR.

Kuramba said the account from which the money was being withdrawn has been blocked.

"The account has Frw50 million now. So we have been able to save about Frw65 million in total,” Kuramba said. The owner of the account is among those arrested.

Kuramba believed he opened an account with false papers. After depositing the money stolen from micro finance institutions, the suspects would rush to BCR and withdraw.

But at one point, bank officials became suspicious when money was being deposited and withdrawn within a matter of minutes. The officials alerted the police who subsequently arrested those implicated.

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