Equity Bank Kenya has taken a tough stance on internal financial mismanagement and has fired nearly 200 employees after an audit uncovered suspicious transactions in staff salary and M-Pesa accounts.
Employee Fraud Crackdown
The dismissals started in early May and followed a comprehensive internal investigation that began on April 14. This probe targeted employees who had received unexplained funds from bank customers or business entities linked to Equity Bank.
According to sources, the audit mainly focused on cash inflows to staff salary accounts and their registered M-Pesa numbers. Staff who couldn’t explain these funds were served termination letters but given 14 days to appeal to the MD.
A Move to Regain Trust
Equity Group CEO James Mwangi confirmed the restructuring, saying it’s not about job cuts but rooting out conflict of interest within the workforce.
“We’re not downsizing. In fact we’re hiring to serve our growing customer base. But if you’re conflicted or can’t uphold our values then you can’t stay,” Mr Mwangi said.
He added that this is part of a broader strategy to ensure employees align with the bank’s brand values—trust and integrity—as it becomes one of Africa’s top financial brands.
Triggered by Big Fraud
This mass firing follows a big scandal where the bank lost KSh1.5 billion through fraudulent activities allegedly orchestrated by insiders. One of the incidents involved the use of IT credentials of David Muchiri Kimani, the manager in the Salary Processing Unit, to facilitate over 40 illegal transactions.
The incident raised serious questions within the bank’s top management about employee integrity and prompted a wide-scale audit of transactions across branches.
The Audit: What It Found
The investigation covered staff bank records for the two years leading to December. Employees were required to explain all deposits above their official salary. If their written explanations were not convincing, they were summoned for face-to-face hearings with a disciplinary panel.
The audit found many staff had accepted funds from clients and associates of the bank under unclear or unethical circumstances. As per one of the termination letters:
“It was established that you received amounts under circumstances that were irregular and unethical… your actions were gross misconduct.”
This led to terminations that affected both managerial and junior staff across all departments—including the headquarters and branches.
Legal and Ethical Repercussions
Some former employees are facing legal action. One ongoing case is Equity Bank’s attempt to recover KSh386.5 million stolen by a staff member through fraudulent transfers to multiple companies.
The bank has previously fired employees over credit reference bureau listings and failure to obtain police good conduct certificates.
Transparency, Not Just Terminations
Mr. Mwangi was clear that while sackings were necessary in cases of conflict, the review also included elements of mentorship and support.
“We’re showing staff their records and asking them how they can improve. But for those who cannot be trusted, it’s time to go.”
He said the review extends to Equity’s subsidiaries in other African countries.
Privacy, Policy, and Future Hiring
Terminated employees will get:
Salary up to last day of work
Pay for unused leave days
One-month notice pay
Deductions for any outstanding liabilities with the bank
Meanwhile the bank is strengthening its risk management and fraud detection frameworks by hiring experienced professionals. New additions include:
Senior fraud manager for payments
Fraud manager for insurance and investments
Senior manager in security and governance
Fraud risk analysts
Chief internal auditor Beth Githinji, formerly of Central Bank of Kenya
A Changing Banking Landscape
This comes at a time when banks in Kenya are downsizing due to digitization. Equity’s local workforce reduced from 8,178 in 2022 to 7,763 in 2023, a 5% reduction. Staff costs also went down to KSh17.5 billion from KSh17.7 billion.
Despite this, Equity remains Kenya’s largest bank by customer base, serving 12.9 million clients. It’s also expanding regionally, with presence in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and DRC.
Financials
In 2024, Equity Bank Kenya reported:
Net Profit: KSh24 billion (down 9.7% from 2023)
Loan Book: KSh422 billion
Deposits: KSh643 billion
Conclusion
This is part of Equity’s overall drive to tighten up and rebuild trust. In a world where digital banking is the norm and fraud is on the rise; this is a shot across the bow to the bad guys—and a message to customers that their money is in good hands.