BY THE ARUSHA NEWS REPORTER.
A Romanian national facing eight charges over an alleged bank card fraud scheme in Arusha is due back before the Arumeru District Court on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, after being remanded in custody at Kisongo Prison.
Mr Constantin Cătălin Podoleanu (39), first appeared before Arumeru Distrct Court Magistrate Teddy Sedoyeka on September 2, 2026, to answer charges linked to alleged financial crimes and cyber offences.
Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) prosecutor, Mr Safieli Mshana, told the court that the accused faced six counts of possession of a device for the purpose of committing an offence, contrary to the Cyber Crime Act, Cap. 443 (Revised 2023).
The suspect also faced another count of obtaining money by false pretence contrary to the Penal Code, Cap. 16 (Revised 2023) and a charge of money laundering, contrary to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Cap. 423 (Revised 2023).
The prosecution team also included State Attorney, Mr Stanslaus Halawe, from the National Prosecution Services (NPS).
The prosecution further alleged that transactions worth more than Sh 400 million were carried out through CRDB Bank using Point of Sale (POS) machines and compromised bank card information.
Mr Podoleanu was not required to enter a plea to the main charges because the district court lacks jurisdiction to determine some of the economic crime offences.
He was arrested in Arusha about a fortnight ago following investigations by the PCCB, with assistance from members of the public.
During a search of his residence, investigators reportedly recovered several POS machines, bank cards, laptops, cash and payment receipts suspected to be connected to the alleged fraud.
The September 15 reappearance is expected to mark the next stage of the case as investigations and court proceedings continue.
