Man, 28, charged with hacking KRA systems, stealing Ksh4 billion

A 28-year-old man has been arraigned and charged with allegedly engaging in cyber crime resulting in the loss of Ksh4 billion from the Kenya Revenue Authority.

Alex Mutungi Mutuku on Tuesday denied the charge of electronic fraud before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi.

He is accused of fraudulently causing the loss of Ksh3,985,663,858 from the Kenya Revenue Authority after allegedly interfering with the institution’s computer systems over the course of one year from March 2016 to March this year.

The accused was arrested in a multiagency security operation was conducted within Nairobi after police received information that financial institutions among others were losing cash through suspicious electronic transactions.

The court was told that several electronic gadgets including mobile phones, computers, hard drives, digital video recorders and servers were seized and forwarded to the cyber forensic laboratory for analysis.

The prosecution, through lawyers Edward Okello and Kadebe, also told the court that a printout of data from seized items would fill two large room of 30ft by 40ft.

They also claimed that data analysed so far indicates that the accused has been working with suspects outside the country hence he is a threat to national security.

The prosecution sought to have the suspect detained for 40 days and nights, adding that he could abscond trial if released on bond and that he could interfere with the forensic analysis. They further urged the court to consider that he has a pending case on cyber crime related offences.

However, his lawyer Ms Tacey Makori protested against the further detention of the accused saying that the police have not shown evidence of what has been gathered in the 14 days that he has been in custody, adding that the police have not ruled out the possibility of intruders accessing the seized gadgets.

She also urged the court to consider the penalty for the offence allegedly committed which is a jail term of three years or a maximum fine of Sh200,000 instead of the value of the monies in the charge he is currently facing.

The court will rule on whether he will be released on bond on March 28, 2017.