Three members of the same family have been sentenced to 10 years in prison each after the Kisumu Magistrate's Court convicted them of money laundering and fraud involving more than Sh113.2 million belonging to Such Enterprises Limited.
The convicts, Christopher Joseph Okal, his brother Vincent Anyumba and their mother Grace Minayo Okal, were found guilty of all six counts of money laundering and acquisition and possession of proceeds of crime.
Senior Principal Magistrate Fatuma Rashid also sentenced each of them to an additional five years in prison for conspiracy to commit a felony under Section 393 of the Penal Code. However, the sentences will run concurrently.
The charges arose from a fraudulent scheme involving the diversion of customer payments and wholesale goods worth Sh113,227,529 from the Kisumu-based company between October 2020 and July 2021.
According to the prosecution, Christopher Okal, who worked as an accountant at Such Enterprises Limited, orchestrated the scheme by manipulating the company's accounting system, creating fictitious transactions and diverting customer payments into bank and mobile money accounts linked to his co-accused.
Court proceedings established that customers were instructed to deposit payments for goods into accounts associated with the three family members instead of the company's official accounts.
Forensic document examination and an audit report presented by the prosecution exposed the transactions, with the audit identifying more than Sh113.2 million that could not be accounted for.
The prosecution also presented evidence from company employees, customers, bank officials, forensic examiners and investigating officers to demonstrate how the scheme was executed and how the proceeds were concealed.
In her ruling, Magistrate Rashid rejected the defence's argument that the transactions were legitimate business arrangements, finding that the evidence established a coordinated plan to defraud the company and conceal the proceeds.
She identified Christopher Okal as the mastermind of the scheme, noting that he used accounts belonging to his mother and brother to receive diverted customer payments and conceal the trail of the money.
Beyond the money laundering and conspiracy charges, Christopher received an additional five-year sentence for stealing by servant and fraudulent false accounting, alongside a separate conviction for stealing.His mother and brother were each also sentenced to three years in prison for stealing.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Daniel Karuri and Principal Prosecution Counsel Douglas Moseti. During the sentencing proceedings, Karuri urged the court to impose at least 10 years in prison on the convicts over the theft and money laundering activities.
The court subsequently convicted the three under Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code after finding that the prosecution had proved all the charges against them. The three convicts have 14 days to appeal against both their convictions and sentences, following the court's decision to find them guilty on all counts.
