2 former staff of Diamond Trust Bank Kenya charged over alleged $1.2 million customer account theft scheme

Former senior officials of the Diamond Trust Bank (DTB), including two ex-branch managers, have been charged in Kenya over the alleged theft of more than Ksh149.3 million ($1.15 million) from a customer account in a scheme prosecutors say ran for several years.

The accused, Salimah Ameen Pirbhai, former DTB Parklands branch manager, Aabid Alkarim Kassam, former assistant branch manager, and Tazim Sidi Vassanjiwe, were re-arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on Tuesday, facing a total of 68 counts, including conspiracy to defraud, stealing, money laundering, and forgery.

The prosecution alleges that the trio illegally accessed and diverted funds from a customer account belonging to Rozina Nurdin Patelia, with transactions spanning multiple years between 2016 and 2020.

Alleged multi-year diversion of customer funds

Court documents indicate that the suspects are accused of stealing £233,270.17 ($313,428), which is equivalent to Ksh40.6 million ($313,731), from the account between July 5, 2019 and June 26, 2020, while they were still employed at the bank’s Parklands branch.

Separately, Pirbhai is also accused of unlawfully transferring Ksh39.6 million ($306,053) from DTB on June 4, 2025, while serving as branch manager.

Kassam, on his part, faces additional allegations of stealing Ksh58.2 million ($449,778) between October 31, 2016 and April 5, 2018, as well as a further Ksh10.9 million ($84,237) between June 2019 and October 2021, according to charge sheets presented in court.

Court appearance and charges

Beyond the alleged theft, the accused also face multiple counts of money laundering, uttering false documents, and making false records, bringing the total number of charges to 68.

All three denied the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Irene Thamara.

Pirbhai and Vassanji were released on a bond of Ksh1 million ($7,728) each, with an alternative cash bail of Ksh300,000 ($2,319). Kassam was granted a higher bond of Ksh2 million ($15,456), with an alternative cash bail of Ksh500,000 ($3,864).

Banking sector scrutiny

DTB, a major East African financial institution with operations across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Burundi, has not publicly commented on the case.

The matter adds to ongoing scrutiny of internal controls within regional banking institutions, where regulators have repeatedly flagged vulnerabilities linked to insider fraud and weak oversight mechanisms. The Banking Fraud Investigations Unit is reportedly handling the case as proceedings continue.