DTB Bank managers charged over alleged Sh246million fraud
Salimah Ameen Pirbhai, Aabid Alkarim Kassam and Tazim Sidi Vassanji appeared before the Milimani Law Courts where they denied multiple charges including theft by servant, conspiracy to commit a felony, money laundering and falsification of banking documents.
Three senior Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) managers have been charged in connection with a complex financial crime involving alleged fraudulent transactions amounting to approximately Sh246.9 million over a period of several years.
Salimah Ameen Pirbhai, Aabid Alkarim Kassam and Tazim Sidi Vassanji appeared before the Milimani Law Courts where they denied multiple charges including theft by servant, conspiracy to commit a felony, money laundering and falsification of banking documents.
The accused are alleged to have been involved in irregular financial transactions linked to accounts held at DTB’s Parklands Branch between October 2016 and June 2020, with prosecutors claiming the scheme involved both joint and individual actions to facilitate unauthorized withdrawals from a customer’s accounts.
Court documents indicate that the charges stem from transactions totalling approximately Sh246,967,842.62, alongside additional sums cited in British Pounds Sterling, allegedly withdrawn through a series of coordinated banking operations over nearly four years.
Prosecutors told the court that the three jointly conspired between July 5, 2019, and March 26, 2020, to steal GBP 233,270.17 (about Sh149.2 million) from a sterling account belonging to customer Rozuna Nurdin Patelia. Investigators further allege that the funds were moved through manipulated banking processes within the branch.
Branch manager Salimah Ameen Pirbhai is separately accused of stealing Sh39,587,840.20 belonging to DTB (Kenya) Limited while serving at the Parklands Branch.
The prosecution said the offence was committed on June 4, 2025.
Assistant branch manager Aabid Alkarim Kassam faces additional counts, including allegations that he stole Sh58,244,167.47 between October 2016 and April 2018, as well as a further Sh10,914,400 between June 2019 and October 2021, alongside other individuals not before the court.
He is also accused of handling proceeds of crime in related money laundering charges.
Vassanji is also charged in connection with alleged joint transactions and banking-related offences tied to the same case.
The prosecution further claims that falsified withdrawal instructions, internal bank letters and fixed deposit liquidation documents were used to process the disputed transactions over the years.
All three accused denied the charges before Magistrate Irene Tamara.
In her ruling on bail, the court granted Pirbhai and Vassanji a cash bail of Sh300,000 each or a bond of Sh1 million. Kassam, who faces approximately 65 charges, was released on a cash bail of Sh500,000 or a bond of Sh2 million.
The matter will be mentioned on June 17, 2026, for further directions.
