Court freezes Sh734m in Kimwarer, Arror probe

A Nairobi court has frozen Sh734.5 million in a bank account suspected to be linked to billions paid for Kimwarer and Arror dams that are the subject of a corruption suit.

Milimani’s senior resident magistrate C. Muthoni allowed the freezing of the account at Standard & Chartered following an application by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

The account belongs to a company known as Stanlib Wealth Amanah Property Ltd and the preservation order will remain in place for seven days as the police conduct investigations. The police told the court that they suspect the money held in the account at Standard & Chartered Bank, Sarit Center branch, are proceeds of crime and were in the process of being laundered.

Mr Isaac Ogutu, an investigator told the court that the company made an application on July 24 to transfer Sh734.5 million to Azepco General Trading Company LLC, a company based in Dubai.

He said the Dubai company is suspected to have links to the construction of the two dams in Elgeyo Marakwet County.

The officer further said AZepco received 5.8 million euros from Italian Company CMC Di Ravenna, which had been contracted to build the two non-existent dams.

The government made advance payments of Sh19 billion, which the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji says was shared out in accounts belonging to the conspirators and their agents in the dams’ scandals.

The police said they were tipped on a suspicious bank transfer by the Financial Reporting Centre following an alert from the bank. The court allowed the investigators to inspect the bank statements, inward and outward remittances, instructions on swift transfers, RTGS, deposits and withdrawal slips and cheques as from December 1, 2017 to date.

The officer was also allowed to record statements from bank managers.

Yesterday, during the mention of the case in which 24 people among them suspended Treasury CS Henry Rotich has been charged, the parties could not agree whether to be served with soft or hard copies of witness statements, exhibits and other documents the prosecution will rely on, in the trial.

Mr Philip Murgor for former PS Kamau Thugge said the defence team should be served with hard copies. But special prosecutor Taib Ali Taib told chief magistrate that the documents are about 500,000 copies and there was no legal obligation to serve the defence team with hard copies.

He said that the Director of Public Prosecution had already prepared the documents in a CD and had given out five copies to some of the accused persons.

Mr Ogoti directed the prosecution and the defence team to meet on August 26 and agree on the format in which the documents should be served and appear before him on September 18, for pre-trial.

Other suspects facing charges are former PS Dr Susan Koech, Nema CEO Geoffrey Wahungu, former Kerio Valley Development Authority managing director David Kimosop, Mr Samuel Kimutai, Mr William Kipkemboi Maina and other employees of KVDA.

They have denied multiple charges, among them conspiracy to commit an economic crime, abuse of office, failing to comply with procurement laws and engaging in a project without prior planning.