Commercial Bank CEO Arrested

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers from the banking fraud unit have arrested Yogesh Pattni.

The arrest of Pattni comes just a day after Jaswant Rai was abducted by unknown men in the Kilimani area of Nairobi, raising concerns over State-sponsored gangland-style kidnappings.

Sources at the DCI did not immediately provide reasons for the arrest but confirmed that the tycoon who owns a private bank was picked for questioning.

The Harvard-trained executive heads one of the largest private banks in Kenya, which serves mostly private companies and wealthy individuals.

According to a source aware of the arrest, the CEO was taken to DCI Headquarters on Kiambu Road  at about 6:00 a.m.

It was not immediately clear whether Pattni was picked up from his home or heading to work.

At the time of publication, the DCI and the National Police Service (NPS) were yet to release a public statement addressing the arrest.

The arrest is likely to cause jitters among President-Uhuru-era billionaires after the Saturday ordeal that raised more questions than answers.

On Saturday, billionaire industrialist Rai was picked on Wood Avenue and whisked away. He was released on Sunday evening, hours after President William Ruto blamed him for the woes facing sugarcane farmers.

Ruto’s remarks at a church service in Bungoma came even as the police denied reports that they had taken Rai  

in for questioning.

Rai, one of the largest sugar producers in the country, has investments in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

His lawyers led by Kioko Kilukumi said on Sunday that he had been blocked from sharing the details of their discussion, even as police continued to deny arresting him.