Kenyan National Hacks Into ZIMDEF Database, Steals $20 Million
A Kenyan national on Thursday appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court charged with hacking the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) systems and stealing $20 million from its bank account.
The suspect, Primrose Nyeri Mwangi (40), is the director of Primkett Travels.
Mwangi appeared before magistrate Stanford Mambanje facing fraud charges.
The suspect was denied bail and returns to court this Friday.
Prosecutors told the court that in December 2022, Mwangi allegedly connived with Gerald Pondai and Prosper Hove, who are still at large, and hacked into the ZIMDEF database.
The suspects allegedly accessed ZIMDEF’s bank accounts.
They allegedly used the Zeepay ZimSwitch system and transferred $20 million from ZIMDEF into Maffkett Trading’s Steward Bank account.
The suspects further transferred various amounts into Atrier Engineering CBZ Bank, Newplaces (Pvt) Limited NBS Bank and Tavaka Holdings accounts.
The offence came to light on 28 December when ZIMDEF received an email alerting them of the transactions. | NewsDay
