GRAPPLING WITH growing insecurity, Kenyan bankers have proposed the introduction of a remote-controlled device to be fitted in the money boxes used for cash in transit, which at the touch of a button explodes, dyeing the contents with colour and rendering them useless to thieves.

Other measures proposed at a recent meeting of the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), the Central Bank and the police, which was called to discuss bank robberies and theft of cash in transit, included increasing security patrols and the enhanced use of surveillance cameras.

But it is the detonating device, which is said to have drastically reduced such thefts in South Africa, where two years ago vehicles carrying cash were targeted almost daily, that seemed to find most favour with the bankers. As security within and around banks has recently been strengthened cash in transit is being seen as a weak link.

The head of KBA's fraud and security committee, Philip ole Perrio, told The EastAfrican that the proposal is being studied as a key deterrent to robbery of cash in transit. "We are also studying other methods currently in use elsewhere in the world in order to improve security in the banks," he said. 

The banks are understood to be anxious that bank thefts, which peaked in late 2000, seems to be making a comeback with foreign exchange bureaux bearing the brunt of walk-in robberies. But with the increased security patrols, it is the vans transporting cash that are widely seen as the weak link in the chain.

Police officers, however, said that the devices, though highly recommended as a deterrent against the thefts, cannot be used immediately without first amending the Banking Act, which outlaws the mutilation of currency. "Unless the law is changed, we cannot introduce the device," said a police officer.

But the costs involved in implementing the proposal is also becoming an issue, with security experts arguing that it will most likely be passed on to consumers.

The director of a Nairobi-based security consultancy – Security, Research and Investigation Centre (SRIC) – Jan Kamenju, said the real threat to the banks were their own employees, who serve as informers to the robbery masterminds.

It is a view Mr Perrio supports. He said investigations carried out by banks indicated that insiders provide vital assistance in such robberies.

But Col Kamenju said that discolouring the money, as will happen once the panic button is pressed either within the bank on receiving information that a van has either been robbed or carjacked, or by the driver, will introduce the cost of replacing the spoilt notes. "Experience has taught us that banks pass on any new costs to their customers," he added. 

He instead suggested that banks should seek better escort arrangements for cash in transit. "There is a good example in the way the Kenyan army transports its money. The van carrying the cash, although with its own security, is escorted by another vehicle with armed guards," he said. "This not only provides separate security for the van but also guards against any diversions from the pre-arranged route," he said. This is not the first time banks are discussing with the issue of security. At the height of the attacks on banks in the 1990s, the locations of several banks, especially in Nairobi, were seen as a major factor in the robberies.

A suggestion that the banks move out of the city's crowded central business district was immediately shot down on the grounds that they wanted to be close to their customers. 

Those calling for the relocation of the banks had argued that banks located on Nairobi's Tom Mboya and River Road were difficult to protect because of the heavy pedestrian traffic, which hampered police surveillance. 

Kenya Commercial Bank and Barclays Bank had set up branches on River Road, while Standard Chartered Bank's headquarters is situated between Moi Avenue and Tom Mboya street.

"We have seen relative calm in smaller towns, probably because banks in such areas are often within easy reach of the local police station. This has served as a perfect deterrent," said Mr Perrio.

At the recent meeting, the industry representatives also suggested increased patrols by uniformed police in areas surrounding banks. Since the beginning of year, robbers have struck a Standard Chartered bank branch and Blueseas Forex Bureau, both on Kimathi Street in Nairobi, and a branch of the Bank of Baroda in Mombasa. In the Standard Chartered Bank incident, the amount taken was not immediately available, but in the case of the forex bureau, the thieves took off with Ksh20.8 million ($266,666). The Bank of Baroda in Mombasa lost Ksh15 million ($192, 310). 

"We do, however, appreciate the problems facing the Kenya police with regard to a shortage of manpower and facilities such as patrol cars, but the security issue is of concern to us," said Mr Perrio.

The robberies at the forex bureaux, and there have been several in the past few years, have placed the Central Bank in the spotlight over its failure to regulate the sector by placing a ceiling on how much cash they can hold at any time .

"We feel that there ought to be regulation on the basic maximum a forex bureau should hold, which they can maintain through making as many deposits as the business many require. It was certainly out of order for a forex bureau to keep Ksh20 million ($246,410) in a place that does not have sufficient security," said Mr Perrio. 

Banks had, following the spate of robberies in the 1990s, put a restriction on the amounts of money a bank cashier can retain. They also put a ceiling on the amounts customers could withdraw daily from the automated teller machines (ATMS), after a number of attacks in which victims were led to the machines and forced to empty their accounts. 

There has also been an increased presence of security guards at ATM points, but whether they should be armed has also provoked debate, as it is widely acknowledged that with their batons and whistles, they are not much deterrent to a thief armed with a gun. 

Mr Perrio, however, said arming the guards would be disastrous. "When you have a guard earning Ksh5,000 with a fire arm, the temptation to use his gun against his client would be great." 

"The introduction of closed circuit television by banks is a good move but the impression one gets from the raid at the Bank of Baroda is that it has not been fully utilised," said Col Kamenju. "There should be 24-hour monitoring, with the cameras focusing on staff members as well."

"Ultimately, the cameras should be used to stop bank robberies, rather than assist in the arrest of robbers," he said. 

But the system in South Africa, in which Nedbank, and NGOs Transparency International, Human Sciences Research Council and Business Against Crime have together established the think tank Institute of Security Services to advise banks and other financial institutions on security matters, is the way to go.

This argument, say security experts, is based on the view that crime evolves and the industry needs to develop its own system to monitor the new trends and recommend remedies. "What we do in Kenya could also eventually help to fight similar crimes in Uganda and Tanzania," said Col Kamenju.

But any security measure that succeeds in Kenya, will be of particular interest to Tanzania, where cash in transit has recently been targeted by robbers.

In three major thefts recently, the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) and Citibank (T) Ltd lost nearly Tsh6 billion ($6 million) in both local and foreign currency in raids involving cash in transit. 

The NBC lost over Tsh800 million which it was moving within Dar es Salaam, while the Citibank lost $2 million it was transporting from Dar es Salaam International Airport to the bank’s downtown branch. 

The driver-cum-security guard who was driving the van allegedly pulled a pistol and threatened to kill his fellow guards, before transferring the cash to a waiting getaway car.

Police arrested the guard in the southern town of Mbeya and brought him back to Dar es Salaam where, along with suspected accomplices, he was charged with robbery. The case is still pending in court.

The CRDB Bank lost over $3 million in cash when two robbers, entered the bank through the back door in the morning along with the staff, ordered them to lie down and got away with the cash, which was in foreign currency, having been delivered the previous day from overseas. 

They were later arrested in Nairobi and repatriated to Dar es Salaam, where they were charged with armed robbery.

The case is also still pending in court. This was the first ever bank robbery in Tanzania, as most crimes involving banks and financial institutions are mainly fraud. 
 

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