Witness says audit did not link former Chase Bank director to fraud
Crime and Justice
By
Nancy Gitonga
| Jun 19, 2026
A witness has admitted before a Nairobi court that the audit report relied upon by the prosecution did not implicate one of the former Chase Bank directors in the alleged billion-shilling fraud that led to the lender’s collapse in 2015.
Auditor Fredrick Aloo, who appeared before Milimani Law Courts made the admission during cross-examination by defence lawyer Cecil Miller, who questioned whether the audit findings provided evidence of criminal wrongdoing against the accused.
The witness conceded that the Deloitte report did not conclude that the second accused, Dan Kang’a Buyu, had conspired with any person to steal from the bank.
Aloo further admitted that the audit did not establish that Kang’a had stolen funds from Chase Bank or that he had engaged in money laundering.
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The admissions came during intense questioning by defence lawyer Cecil Miller, who pressed the witness on the contents of the audit findings underpinning the prosecution's case.
This is after the prosecution’s reliance on the audit report in the case involving former Chase Bank officials accused of offences linked to the collapse of the lender in 2015.
Miller also used the cross-examination to interrogate Deloitte's regulatory record, referring the witness to past scrutiny the firm faced over its audit work at CMC Motors, Mumias Sugar and Dubai Bank.
Aloo acknowledged that Deloitte had indeed been investigated in connection with some of those matters.
On Chase Bank specifically, the witness admitted that the Capital Markets Authority had fined Deloitte Sh 10 million over its failure to detect errors in financial statements submitted for audit.
Miller pressed further on whether Deloitte's conduct during the audit contributed to the chain of events that led to the bank's collapse, an assertion the witness rejected.
The defence also raised concerns over the forensic audit conducted after Chase Bank was placed under receivership, questioning whether Deloitte’s previous involvement created a conflict of interest.
Aloo maintained there was no conflict, explaining that separate teams within the firm had handled the two assignments.
Miller additionally questioned the witness on the existence of approved and signed financial statements, and challenged aspects of Deloitte's conduct in the period leading up to the lender's collapse.
The defence is expected to rely on the witness’s admissions as it continues to challenge the prosecution’s evidence against the accused.
In the case three former Chase Bank directors, Duncan Kabui, James Mwenja and Makarios Agumbi, have been charged with conspiracy to defraud the bank of billions of shillings.
Prosecutors allege that the former directors conspired to conceal money laundering involving millions of shillings and participated in transactions that contributed to losses suffered by the bank.
In the first count, they are accused of defrauding the bank by falsely representing that Sh1.6 billion in loans had been properly disbursed to companies including Camelia Investments Limited, Cleopatra Holdings Limited, Golden Azure Limited and Colbrook Holding Limited.
The charge sheet states that between August 2009 and March 2016 at Chase Bank headquarters in Nairobi, the accused allegedly conspired to defraud the institution by pretending that the funds had been transferred from internal Chase Bank accounts to the said companies.
Kabui also faces a separate charge of allegedly stealing more than Sh700 million from the bank between February 2012 and December 2015.
The hearing continues on August 4, 5 and 11, 2026.