An employment court row between Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and its former branch manager over her sacking has revealed the secrets of dramatic cash withdrawals by one of the top suspects

in the loss of billions of shillings at the National Youth Service (NYS). Court filings show how the bank treated James Thuita as a high-level client who often withdrew millions of shillings

in cash and carried it in bags to his cars. CCTV images provided in the employment suit also showed a cosy working relationship between Mr Thuita and the bank staff, with some of them

providing bags for holding the withdrawn cash. The branch manager, Anastacia Nyambura Wambui, fired in 2018 for allegedly offering her bag to the NYS scandal suspect to carry millions, has

High Court ordered him to forfeit Sh35 million, which was being held in 10 bank accounts, to the government after failing to explain the source of the funds. Court filings indicate that Mr

Thuita was in the radar of Standard Chartered Bank over suspicious dealings before the NYS scam broke out into the open, but the lender seemingly took long to act. “The claimant (Ms Wambui)

avers that she learnt of the involvement of Mr James Thuita in the National Youth Service scandal and immediately notified the respondent’s senior management and Financial Prime Risk Team,

who confirmed that they were aware and would advise on the way forward,” court fillings say. Standard Chartered Bank Kenya was one of the five banks that were fined a total of Sh777 million

in 2020 by the Central Bank of Kenya and the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for not reporting suspicious NYS transactions under anti-money laundering laws. The bank said at

the time it had agreed a settlement with the ODPP of Sh100 million and that the chief prosecutor had agreed to defer prosecution against it and its executives. Ms Wambui was fired in

September 2018 for irregular dealings with Mr Thuita. She was accused of allowing the NYS suspect to use her bag in carrying the cash. The lender then accused Ms Wambui of violating the

bank’s conflict of interest policy by handling cash in irregular dealings with a client. But Employment and Labour Relations court judge Anna Ngibuini Mwaure said the bank failed to prove

that the former Thika Road mall branch manager had any dealings with Mr Thuita, either directly or indirectly. “The honourable court is of the view that the claimant (Ms Wambui) was unfairly

terminated from her employment on grounds of gross misconduct which were not proven. The respondent did not establish a valid reason for terminating the claimant,” Justice Mwaure said in a

judgment issued on May 23. The judge directed the bank to pay Ms Wambui one month salary of Sh320,000, compensation for unfair termination of Sh2.56 million, and leave days of Sh266,666. The

amount will attract interest of 14 percent per annum from the date of the judgment. The judge rejected CCTV evidence provided by the bank, allegedly showing Mr Thuita leaving the bank lobby

carrying a red bag, saying the authenticity of the footage could not be verified. “On the issue of photographs from the CCTV footage, there is no certificate accompanying the said

investigation report,” added the judge. Mr Thuita's suit over the NYS scandal remains active in court. Ms Wambui told the court that she served Mr Thuita more than 100 times and could

not recall the particular day, how he carried the money. Ms Wambui added that the client withdrew Sh4.5 million, then deposited Sh3 million and walked out of the bank with the balance.

However, the bank accused her of keeping Sh1.5 million in her office for the customer. On another occasion, the CCTV footage allegedly showed that on May 22, 2018 at 11.21 am, Ms Wambui was

seen carrying a red bag and met a client in her office, who had withdrawn Sh2 million, which was brought by a teller. Later, Mr Thuita was allegedly seen leaving her office with the red bag.

She explained that clients are expected to use their own bags or envelopes for handling cash and according to her, Mr Thuita had his own bag, which could have been pink or brown. Ms Wambui

defended herself saying although Mr Thuita was “a frequent high-level client”, she served him like any other client. Further, she was not the only employee in the branch serving the client.

She said she attended the disciplinary hearing on August 30, 2018, where she was given a chance to defend herself and was later fired on September 11, 2018, for gross misconduct. The former

employer accused her of irregular dealings with a client and failing to disclose a personal connection with the client, violating the conflict of interest policy. The bank stated that her

actions exposed it to potential legal, financial, and reputational risks. The court, however, ruled that the bank failed to give valid reasons for terminating the branch manager, who had

worked for Standard Chartered for 13 years.