Equity Group has dismissed more than 1,200 employees as part of a sweeping effort to clamp down on internal fraud, CEO James Mwangi confirmed this week. The move, one of the most extensive in Kenya’s banking history, follows an internal investigation that uncovered widespread staff collusion with fraudsters, resulting in financial losses exceeding KES 2 billion (approximately $15.4 million) over the past two years.
Some of the stolen funds were traced to offshore accounts, including a high-profile case involving transfers to Abu Dhabi. The findings revealed that employees across multiple departments either actively participated in or ignored suspicious transactions involving customers.
Mwangi delivered a clear message about the bank’s new zero-tolerance stance: “The moment of reckoning has come. It doesn’t matter how many I will lose. I don’t even care. I have just started the journey. I will protect the customers and the bank. I will be ruthless.”
The purge began on May 20 with an initial batch of 200 dismissals. But this week’s mass termination of over 1,200 staff members signals a far-reaching and systematic change, driven by a zero-tolerance policy on employee misconduct. Mwangi confirmed that the investigation is ongoing across the bank’s operations in all seven countries—Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia—indicating that more terminations may follow.
The investigation methodology itself reflects a new level of scrutiny in the region’s banking practices. Equity reportedly reviewed internal bank accounts, personal M-PESA activity, and other financial behavior to identify any connections—however minimal—to fraud suspects. Employees found to have had contact with compromised individuals, including regular customers, were dismissed.
“This is not a toll station,” Mwangi said, calling out a long-standing culture of transactional favoritism, where staff often received informal “tips” or gifts to fast-track services. “If you have ever eaten Mama Mboga’s chicken, the moment has come.”
This sweeping action, while earning public approval for its firmness, also exposes deeper governance vulnerabilities that have long plagued Kenya’s—and by extension, Africa’s—banking landscape. Many banks across the continent have faced scandals involving insider fraud and poor internal controls, but few have addressed the problem as publicly and forcefully as Equity.
The move also sends a strong message to customers. Mwangi emphasized that customers themselves must stop attempting to influence staff. “We have zero tolerance for anybody who is conflicted,” he stated, urging clients to uphold the same ethical standards expected of bank employees.
Equity Group’s rise from a cooperative society to one of Africa’s largest banks has been remarkable, with a footprint now spanning seven countries. However, its rapid growth, coupled with increasing digitization and transaction volume, has exposed the cracks in operational oversight.
The latest purge is not merely an internal HR matter; it is a signal of institutional recalibration. As banks across Africa embrace digital transformation, the need for robust governance, internal accountability, and cultural realignment has never been clearer. Equity Group’s actions could well set a precedent for how African banks respond to the evolving threats of internal fraud in an increasingly digitized financial environment.
