Kenya’s second-biggest bank by assets has fired over 1,200 employees in a brutal crackdown on fraud. What began on May 20 with 200 sackings has snowballed into a full-on purge.
What triggered this purge? Turns out $15.4 million has quietly disappeared over the past two years—some of it sneaking into offshore accounts, including a high-profile case in Abu Dhabi last year. After months-long soul searching, the bank found internal rot across multiple departments. Since then, the bank has placed heavy scrutiny on employee transactions, including personal M-PESA activities and bank accounts.
Anything linking employees to suspected fraudsters will get them fired.
This is a big deal: It is very rare for financial institutions to take such a public and far-reaching approach to addressing internal fraud. Plus, this layoff marks one of the largest anti-fraud moves by a Kenyan bank in recent years. In July, 2024, First Bank of Nigeria fired at least 120 employees over a ₦40 billion fraud scandal.
The future holds more possible layoffs: Out of Equity Group’s 14,000 staff—as CEO, Mwangi, has confirmed that investigations would spread to the banks’ other markets in Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda and DR Congo.
Zoom out: Equity’s move echoes a loud message to staff, customers, regulators, and other banks: this is a zero-tolerance zone. If the CEO’s tone is anything to go by the show is far from over.
