A Kenyan woman is in custody for allegedly using fraudulent means to obtain money from Bank of Kigali (BK).The suspect, name withheld, on Monday at around 3:45pm, allegedly withdrew $2,000 (about Rwf1.2m) at the Kanombe branch of Bank de Kigali using a forged international visa card. “She used a forged visa Point of Sale card to withdraw money from a bank account belonging to Krishan Sinnandurai, a client of Emirates Bank International in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai),” Alex Bahizi, the Legal Service Manager of Bank of Kigali told The New Times, yesterday.Bahizi explained that after the transaction, the Dubai Bank immediately notified BK saying the money had been fraudulently transacted from their client’s account.“They informed us to apprehend that person before she disappears from the scene with the money so that it is returned to the owner’s account,” he said, adding that they immediately embarked on a search to ascertain if the alleged suspect was still within the vicinity as the bank had remained with copies of her passport and money withdrawal sheet.During the transaction, the suspect claimed to reside at Alpha Palace Hotel, located in the Kigali suburb of Remera, which turned out to be false. “We instantly notified the Police, specifically the unit responsible for financial and economic crimes, to arrest the person before she disappeared from the country,” Bahizi pointed out.He observed that the transaction was successful because her names on both the visa card and passport corresponded but the Dubai Bank visa system immediately detected fraud.Bahizi noted that the bank had so far registered four frauds since last year but all the suspects had been apprehended and the money recovered. He said the bank has never lost any money through fraud.Police Spokesperson, Theos Badege, said the suspect was arrested on Monday evening at the Gatuna border post on her way to Nairobi following a tip off from BK.A survey conducted by auditing firm, Deloitte, last year, indicated that banks in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia lose $245 million through cyber fraud.Badege further said police last year registered about six cases of cyber related crimes.According to police statistics, 169 counterfeit cases, including forged cheques and SIM-cards, were registered last year and 56 people arrested.
