East Africa's largest telecoms operator, Safaricom Plc, dismissed 118 employees during the financial year ended March 31, 2026, following internal fraud investigations, according to disclosures in the company's latest Sustainability Report.

The disciplinary measures come as the company moves to strengthen anti-financial crime safeguards across its telecoms operations and its M-PESA mobile money ecosystem, and amid heightened regulatory scrutiny after Kenya was placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list — a designation the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog applies to jurisdictions under increased monitoring for deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regimes.

According to the 2026 Safaricom Sustainable Business Report, released on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the company investigated several fraud cases in FY26. The investigations led to 118 employee dismissals, up from 113 in FY25; three disciplinary warnings, an increase from zero in FY25; and 14 cases referred to law enforcement agencies, double the seven recorded in FY25. With all three enforcement categories rising year on year, the FY26 disclosures set a benchmark against which Safaricom's future enforcement reporting can be measured while Kenya remains under increased international monitoring for its financial crime controls.

Employees can face dismissal where their conduct breaches rules and obligations under their employment contracts or amounts to gross misconduct, the report states. Offences identified ranged from theft to falsification of company records, unauthorized access to customer call records, security and compliance breaches, and other criminal offences.

As part of its anti-fraud enforcement, the company's proactive monitoring and analytics enabled the recovery of $7.34 million (Ksh953 million) linked specifically to inflated agent commissions. The recovery illustrates the financial stakes of fraud controls across M-PESA, a mobile money operation serving tens of millions of users and tens of thousands of merchants.

Reacting to the report and the company's efforts to foster digital trust, Group CEO Peter Ndegwa said it reflects how the company creates value for the society it serves.

"Our 2026 report reflects the value created across our business, communities and the environment, while outlining the work ahead: responding to rising energy demand, reducing value-chain emissions and strengthening digital trust," he said.

How Safaricom identifies fraud

In FY26, Safaricom identified physical social engineering as the leading fraud vector targeting subscribers. Technical upgrades, including security APIs under Daraja 3.0 and real-time transaction monitoring under Fintech 2.0, were deployed to detect and curb identity theft.

The report also detailed the company's process for identifying suspected fraud, which can begin with customer complaints or with alerts from the company's fraud management system.

Once a case is flagged, a manager or the Ethics and Compliance team investigates and recommends whether the matter should be handled informally or through a formal disciplinary process. Safaricom says investigations are tracked using password-protected spreadsheets accessible only to the Ethics and Compliance team, while investigation records and final reports are prepared manually outside the fraud management system and updated after the process concludes.

Once an investigation is concluded, a summary report and supporting documents are forwarded to Human Resources for further action. A disciplinary committee then determines the outcome in accordance with company policy and procedures, with possible outcomes including a warning, dismissal, or referral of a suspected criminal offence to law enforcement agencies.

Operational and workforce milestones

Beyond anti-fraud and compliance measures, the report highlighted key operational milestones in environmental protection and workforce growth. Telecom towers powered by Solar PV have expanded to 2,028 site locations, including about 800 battery and rectifier upgrades. The company recycled 100% of network waste and 97% of solid waste, while maintaining a CDP 'A' rating for climate change disclosures for the second consecutive year.

Total employee headcount grew to 5,648 in FY26, comprising 2,844 male and 2,804 female employees. Permanent staff achieved near gender parity, at 49.9% female and 50.1% male. Extending its gender balance push, women hold 33.3% of executive leadership roles and 43.9% of senior management positions.

Safaricom serves a customer base of 71.56 million across its Kenyan and Ethiopian markets, with 57.9 million and 13.6 million customers respectively. Its mobile money operation, M-PESA, has now crossed 41 million users, with 70,000 merchants on the platform.