Rwanda has jailed eight Kenyans who were part of a 12-member gang that unsuccessfully attempted to hack into Equity Bank, Rwanda.
A probe conducted by the Rwanda Investigative Bureau (RIB) said there was enough evidence to indict the eight Kenyans.
They were found guilty of various cybercrime-related offenses and sentenced to eight years in prison each.
The eight Kenyans are Dedan Muchoki Muriuki, Samuel Wachira Nyuguto, Kinyua Erickson Macharia, Godfrey Gachiri Githinji, Eric Dickson Njagi Mutegi, Reuben Kirogothi Mwangi, Damaris Njeri Kamau, and Steve Maina Wambugu.
Rwandan authorities charged the suspects with , computer access to information intended to commit a crime, change of computer information or network, unauthorized computer access, and stealing.
The court directed all the suspects to refund Equity Rwanda a total of 56,525,439 Rwandan Francs (Ksh6 million) for its expenses while fighting this crime.
A probe revealed that the suspects had staged similar cybercrimes in Kenya and Uganda targeting Equity Bank.
But RIB was on their trail all along, waiting for them to make a move which, they did, oblivious of the fact they were being watched.
Kenyan authorities have been pursuing some of the eight suspects over the same crime, but they managed to escape the dragnet.
For example, the Kenyan government pursued Kirongothi, who jumped bail after allegedly stealing Ksh80 million.
Njagi is alleged to have stolen Ksh2.7 million.
Gachiri, on the other hand, worked for Standard Group. He was accused of electronically stealing Sh21.5 million in 2016 from Sidian Bank but the case was dropped after the money was found.
Kenya has been marked as a haven for illicit financial flow emanating from financial fraud.
