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A 26-year-old university dropout is at the heart of a in which he is accused of hacking into the systems of a leading betting firm and making away with Sh11.4 million.
Seth Mwabe who dropped out of Meru University is accused of orchestrating the heist in July, with the company reporting the suspicious loss of funds to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
After weeks of painstaking investigations detectives from the DCI’s Banking Fraud Unit trailed the suspect o his two-bedroom apartment in Tatu City where he was arrested.
How the heist unfolded
Mwabe is accused of bypassing the payment service provider’s digital security systems and siphoning away Sh11.4 million.
Regional Criminal Investigations Officer, Central Region, Abraham Mugambi during the raid that saw Seth Mwabe arrested
Regional Criminal Investigations Officer, Central Region, Abraham Mugambi who led the raid linked the suspect to several fraudulent activities.
This year in July, a report was made that a payment service provider had lost Sh11.4 million through fraudulent means. Investigations commenced, and DCI teams of experts established that the fraud was committed after the individual bypassed the security systems of the company
What Mwabe told detectives
Mwabe who identified himself as a cyber security engineer confirmed that he dropped out of university at second year and has ben plying his trade since then.
He told detectives that he has been in the game since 2017 and dropped out of Meru University without delving into the details of his operations.
“I am a cyber security engineer so this is what I do” Mwabe told the police during the raid.
Key items recovered
The suspect refused to grant access to the officers who camped outside his apartment, leading to a forceful entry.
Inside the house was a well-established computer laboratory with sophisticated equipment.
Police also found a safe, a money-counting machine, several phones and other items that gave the indication that the apartment was the hub of sophisticated operations.
Police also found a safe, a money-counting machine, several phones and other items that gave the indication that the apartment was the hub of sophisticated operations.
Mwabe clarified that what he has been involved in is consultancy with what was found in his house being the equipment he uses in his consultancy gigs.
“I am an independent consultant; I get contracted by different entities.” Mwabe told detectives.
White collar crime has been on the rise in the country with security agencies working round the clock to apprehend and prosecute criminals who have upped their game.