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Hacker steal $39m from Kenya Revenue Authority

An IT expert in Kenya has been charged with hacking into the country's tax authority and stealing $39m by Kenyan authorities, according to local media.

Alex Mutunga Mutuku, 28, is accused of electronic fraud, who had stolen money from various institutions and companies in the East African nation, The Standard newspaper reported. However, he denies all the charges against him.

Edwin Okello, the state prosecutor says that he has been working with an international network and is involved in many cases of stealing money from several state bodies.

""It is a case of remote control hacking where the suspects operate smoothly with their machines and the next minute you realize you have no money in your account," said Okello.

"The information we have is just a tip of the iceberg. The racket is big and involves people outside the country."

The government says that the members of the group are from the United States and other countries, and some of them are police officers and civil servants.

According to reports of the Daily Nation newspaper, in 2015 he was arrested for hacking into the country's biggest telephone network provider, Safaricom, and stealing airtime worth $150. In 2014 also, he has been accused of hacking into the system of a local bank.

As per the cybercrime unit,  Kenya has lost $165m (£132m) through hacking in 2016.

The trial will continue from March 28.

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