DTB, Safaricom to pay client Sh4.4m for fraud loss
A Kenyan High Court has held Diamond Trust Bank and Safaricom jointly liable for a SIM-swap fraud that cost a customer Sh4.4 million. The court ruled that both institutions failed in their duty of care by ignoring suspicious activity and failing to protect the client's data.
Why it matters
This ruling sets a significant legal precedent for financial and telecommunications accountability in digital fraud cases, emphasizing that institutions cannot rely solely on PINs to validate transactions.
Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) and Safaricom have been jointly held responsible for a SIM-swap fraud that saw a customer lose Sh4.4 million. A court ruled that both institutions failed in their separate duties to protect the client from the fraud.
Dismissing an appeal by DTB and a cross-appeal by Safaricom, the High Court affirmed a magistrate's finding that the telco and the lender were negligent, as their failures enabled the fraud.
The court upheld the trial court's apportionment of liability, which found Safaricom 60 percent liable and DTB 40 percent liable for the loss suffered by customer Mercy Wairimu Kariuki.
In a judgment on June 18, the court also upheld the order requiring DTB to pay Kariuki Sh1,788,601, together with general damages for negligence and breach of confidentiality, costs and interest.
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