Wahome Thuku has shared a disturbing account on his Facebook page, raising tough questions about Equity Bank and how a huge amount of money could disappear without the knowledge of the account owners.
He explains the experience of his friend Isaac Mwangi, a businessman in Kitengela, who had placed Ksh10 million in a joint fixed deposit account only to later discover that the money had quietly vanished.
Isaac had opened the account together with his siblings, Mary Karanja and Joseph Kinuthia, and their father, David Kariuki Karangi. They expected their money to be safe, untouched, and earning interest.
Instead, they were shocked to learn that the account had been emptied in a manner that they now describe as suspicious and fraudulent.
According to the details shared, the discovery was accidental. Isaac was speaking with a bank employee about a completely different issue when the staff member casually asked whether he had closed his fixed deposit account.
Isaac was confused and asked which account the employee was referring to. When told it was the one containing Ksh10 million, he was thrown into panic because he had never withdrawn anything.
He rushed to the branch immediately, desperate to understand what had happened. A statement issued at the branch confirmed his worst fears. The account had been cleaned out and the balance was zero.
This incident has now grown into a full legal case. Isaac and his siblings have sued Equity Bank, Marina Group Limited, and a woman identified as Lucy W. Muturi. The family claims that their money was taken through a fraudulent scheme involving the three defendants.
According to their court papers, the fixed deposit account was opened in September 2024 with Ksh10,464,725. They only learned the money was gone in July 2025 after Isaac’s alarming call with the bank employee.
The bank later informed them that the funds had been released following a court order from a case filed by Marina Group in November 2024 at the Embu Law Courts.
In that case, the company had reportedly sued the estate of Karangi over an alleged debt of Ksh19.8 million related to farm machinery. At the time of the case, their father was still alive and only passed away in February 2025.
The family disputes any agreement between their father and Marina Group, and they argue that even if such a dispute existed, the bank had no right to release funds from their joint fixed deposit account without involving them.
What raises even more suspicion is the claim that the consent filed in the Embu case specifically targeted a different account number at the Ngong Branch. Yet on 14 December 2024, Equity allegedly debited another fixed deposit account altogether and sent the money to Marina Group’s lawyers.
Isaac insists that neither he nor his siblings were ever contacted by the bank or given any chance to defend their funds before the money was released.
In their Milimani case, the siblings accuse Marina Group and Lucy Muturi of fraud. They also accuse Equity Bank of negligence, conspiracy, and breach of fiduciary duty.
They now want the three defendants held responsible and ordered to refund the entire amount with interest and the costs of the legal process.
Wahome Thuku says he will continue following the case, and many Kenyans are watching closely to see how such a serious matter will be resolved.
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