Bank teller arrested over theft of Rwf32 million

Police in Muhima district are holding a 27-year-old man alleged to have stolen more than $50,000 (about Rwf32 million) from Kenya Commercial Bank.The suspect (names withheld for legal reasons), a resident of Kimironko, was arrested on Saturday in Nyanza Sector, Gisagara District in Southern Province while trying to flee to Burundi with the money.Speaking from Muhima Police Station, the suspect, formerly working at the Nyabugogo KCB branch, confessed to the theft, saying he had learnt that the bank had planned to fire him so he wanted to initiate personal businesses in Bujumbura. The suspect said he stole the money last Friday.He said the branch manager had entrusted him with keys which tempted him to steal the money. “I had heard some rumours that they wanted to sack me because of some minor issues I had with my bosses,” the suspect, who appeared scared, confessed before journalists at the police station.He narrated that after picking the money, he jumped onto a taxi-moto that transported him to Southern Province from where he would proceed to Burundi.By the time he was apprehended, he had used only $250 and the rest was handed back to the bank. The suspect had spent one-and-a-half year at KCB, a regional bank that he joined from Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR), where he had worked for two years.Cursing the motorist whom he said could have tipped security officials, the suspect said he planned to open up an account in any bank in Bujumbura before finalising his business plans.Police spokesperson Damas Gatare advised banks to ensure proper safety mechanisms to prevent theft.“Our aim is to protect investors in the country; we work with international police (Interpol) such that if a person commits any crime and tries to escape he would be immediately arrested,” Gatare said.Kenya Commercial Bank, headquartered in Nairobi, started its operations in Kigali in 2009.The suspect faces 7-10 years in prison if convicted with a fine double the money he had stolen, Police said.

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Bank teller arrested over theft of Rwf32 million