DCI investigates KSh 6.2 billion payroll fraud after audit reveals government irregularities
via Tuko3 min read
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations DCI has launched an investigation into a suspected KSh 6.2 billion government payroll fraud. This follows the submission of a special audit report by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku to DCI Director Mohamed Amin in Nairobi. The audit, ordered by President William Ruto, uncovered widespread irregularities in the public service payroll, including manipulation, questionable employee records, and significant cybersecurity weaknesses. The DCI has formed a specialized investigations team and identified persons of interest. They will collaborate with agencies such as the Kenya Revenue Authority KRA, the Financial Reporting Centre FRC, and the Public Service Commission PSC to establish criminal responsibility and recover stolen funds. The audit, which examined 12 out of 53 state departments, revealed issues like missing surnames, invalid KRA PINs, duplicate national identity numbers, and multiple employees sharing bank accounts. It also found 5,778 employees with deployment dates earlier than their recruitment dates and three employees hired in 2023 with birth years ranging between 2046 and 2049. Irregular payroll payments amounted to KSh 5.898 billion. Furthermore, 720 payroll editors altered over 4.7 million payroll records without system-generated timestamps, and 77 officers edited their own records. Cybersecurity gaps, including the absence of multi-factor authentication and inadequate database logging, were also identified
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