Intensified Anti-Fraud Crackdown by Equity Group Extends to Uganda as Part of Wider Governance Revamp
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In a bid to curb fraudulent activities, Equity Bank, one of Africa's largest banks, has launched an extensive anti-fraud crackdown in both Kenya and Uganda. The bank's strategy combines culture change programs, strong governance, employee training, whistleblower protection, and advanced AI analytics.
In Kenya, the bank has uncovered deep-rooted collusion between employees and external fraudsters, with over $15 million siphoned off through suspicious transactions in the past two years, allegedly funneled into offshore accounts. In response, Equity Bank has implemented a structured fraud risk management framework, led by a Senior Manager of Fraud Risk. This framework aims to identify, assess, prevent, detect, and respond to fraud risks.
In Uganda, Equity Bank has launched the "Culture of Accountability" initiative to reinforce ethical conduct and internal transparency across all branches and departments. This program includes routine staff conduct audits, conflict-of-interest disclosures, whistleblower protections, ethics training, and the use of AI to monitor transactional anomalies and staff performance. The initiative provides confidential feedback channels and is a proactive measure to safeguard staff and customers.
The goal of the initiative isn't to punish but to guide the team and establish clear standards. Disciplinary actions are now in progress for employees in Uganda who have not presented their side. In Kenya, several employees were terminated due to connections with questionable M-PESA and bank transactions, regardless of the transaction size.
The growth and transition to digital banking have introduced fresh vulnerabilities, particularly within internal systems and employee conduct. To address these, Equity Bank Uganda is implementing enhanced whistleblower safeguards, ethics training programs, and backend risk monitoring tools such as AI-driven analytics. The bank is also conducting routine audits, staff performance evaluations, and scrutiny of areas prone to conflict of interest and fraud.
Equity Bank Uganda is currently undergoing a similar process, supported by external auditors and legal experts. The clean-up initiative in Kenya has evolved into one of the most assertive anti-fraud drives in the banking sector. Gift Shoko, Managing Director of Equity Bank Uganda, has pledged to extend the anti-fraud drive across all seven of Equity Group's markets, including Uganda.
Shoko noted that every disbursement is being scrutinized and tracked, and the bank is committed to full transparency. AI technologies play a central role in Equity Bank's fraud strategy across the region. In Uganda, AI assists in performance reviews and fraud detection by analyzing transactional data for abnormalities. Regionally, the bank leverages AI-powered monitoring systems to analyze thousands of transactions in real time, increasing the capability to detect fraud patterns that would be difficult for human reviewers alone.
Originally a building society in Kenya, Equity has expanded into one of Africa's largest banks with a capitalization of $1.3 billion (KES180 billion). The bank's anti-fraud drive is anticipated to conclude by the end of July, marking a significant step towards ensuring the integrity and security of its operations in Kenya and Uganda.
The anti-fraud drive in Kenya and Uganda by Equity Bank, which aims to enhance transparency and security, has introduced AI analytics and ethics training programs to bolster the bank's finance and business operations, particularly in the banking-and-insurance industry. Gift Shoko, Managing Director of Equity Bank Uganda, has outlined plans to extend this comprehensive fraud risk management strategy across all seven markets of Equity Group, in an effort to safeguard both staff and customers while fostering a culture of accountability and industry-leading practices.
