Suspect in Court for Using Forged Car Logbooks to Obtain Sh4.4 Million Loans

A suspect believed to be behind a multi-million-shilling car logbooks forgery enterprise was on Tuesday arraigned in a Nairobi court.

George Githu allegedly colludes with brokers and insiders at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to obtain credit from micro-finance institutions using forged logbooks.

He is accused of obtaining more than Sh4.4 million through forged logbooks of four vehicles belonging to unsuspecting owners, according to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Rogue NTSA officials are said to have registered Githu in the TIMS system as the bonafide owner of Isuzu D-Max KCD 974Z, Toyota Vanguard KCR 280R, and Toyota Landcruiser Prado KCL 922G, then fraudulently obtained credit using the vehicles’ forged documents. 

He obtained Sh1.5 million from Northwave Credit, Sh1.4 million from Momentum Ltd, and Sh843,000 from Bidii Credit before reverting the logbooks to their original owners.

“The owners were left at the mercy of ruthless auctioneers who later went for the vehicles that had been used as security to finance Githu and his accomplices’ lifestyles,” DCI said. 

In one case, a physically challenged Thika woman, who had received the Toyota Prado as a gift from her daughter, was shocked after realizing that her vehicle had been used as collateral by Githu to acquire a loan of Sh1.5 million.

The fraudsters reportedly identify a vehicle on the road or at a parking slot before contacting their coconspirators at NTSA and have the vehicle registered in their names. They then rush to micro-finance institutions and obtain credit. 

Githu was arraigned at Makadara law courts where he was released on a Sh100,000 cash bail.