An accountant suspected of stealing Sh13 million from his employer will remain in custody pending a ruling on whether he will be released on bail.
Milimani chief magistrate Susan Shitubi will rule on Monday whether she will release James Githinji Muchira on baol, pending conclusion of investigations into the matter.
The prosecution had asked the court to be granted 10 days to conclude investigations into the matter.
The banking fraud investigations unit had opposed the release of the accountant who works at Rongsheng Technology limited
Githinji is accused of stealing the money from his employer and transferring it to Shalery Logistics, a firm that belongs to him.
Inspector Silas Owenga of Bank Fraud Unit told the court that the complaint was made by Rongsheng Technology ltd on 19th February 2025.
The officer said Githinji fraudulently transferred the money through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) from an account at Standard Chartered Bank Chiromo branch to a bank account at Family Bank belonging to Shalery Logistics company.
“The preliminary investigation has established that account no. 00*** domicile at Family Bank of Shalery Logistics belongs to Githinji,” investigating officer Owenga told the court.
The investigator told the court that Githinji is further suspected to have also diverted the company’s fund amounting to Sh66,708,867 to different bank accounts belonging to and there was, therefore, a need for an audit to be conducted.
He submitted that the accountant may have altered different transactions for his benefit.
The Investigator told the court he needed more time to obtain documentary evidence, electronic evidence, transaction logs from Standard Chartered Bank, Chiromo branch to facilitate investigations.
“We reasonably believe that Githinji was involved in the alleged offence and his release before obtaining documentary evidence, electronic evidence, and recording crucial witness statements may greatly jeopardize the intended recoveries and he is likely to interfere with the witnesses,” court heard.
Inspector Owenga told the court the suspect was arrested at his hideout on 19th day February 2025 at Thika town by police officers from central police station and booked vide OB NO. 187/19/02/2025.
He added that Githinji disappeared from work forcing the complainant to report the matter for investigation.
He told the court Githinji was a flight risk considering the amount involved.
Owenga said he needed more time to trace witnesses who have close social ties with Githinji and avoid Githinji from influencing them.
“We reasonably believe that going by the complexity of the matter, the investigation needs more time to track and trace other associates who are in constant communication with Githinji,” he told the court.
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