Kenya, June 2 -- An employment dispute between Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and its former Thika Road Mall branch manager, Anastacia Nyambura Wambui, has unearthed shocking details about how James Thuita, a key suspect in the Ksh 10 billion National Youth Service (NYS) corruption scandal, was allowed to withdraw large sums of money in cash, often carried away in bags.

According to court documents, Thuita was treated as a high-value client and frequently made massive cash withdrawals that were facilitated by bank staff.

CCTV footage allegedly showed him being handed bags by employees, including Wambui, to ferry the cash to his car.

The revelations emerged during Wambui's unfair dismissal suit, where she challenged her September 2018 sacking.

She was accused of violating conflict of interest rules by allegedly giving her personal bag to Thuita to carry Ksh 2 million in cash.

The bank also claimed she kept Ksh 1.5 million in her office for the client and had irregular dealings that put the bank at financial and reputational risk.

Thuita, the central figure in the scandal, allegedly received over Ksh 1.1 billion from NYS in 2017 using several companies.

In 2020, the High Court ordered him to forfeit Ksh 35 million held in 10 bank accounts to the government after he failed to explain the source of the funds.

Despite internal red flags at Standard Chartered, the bank was slow to act on suspicions surrounding his transactions.

Eventually, the bank was among five financial institutions fined a combined Ksh 777 million in 2020 by the Central Bank of Kenya and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for failing to report suspicious transactions tied to NYS under anti-money laundering laws.

Standard Chartered alone paid Ksh 100 million in a settlement that allowed it and its executives to avoid prosecution.

Wambui, who had worked at the bank for 13 years, maintained that she was not the only staff member who served Thuita and denied any personal relationship with him.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.