Government moves to recover lost money

By Ben Agina

The Government has now put in place measures to recover public funds from Anglo Leasing type of contracts estimated at Sh3.83 billion.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the precursor of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), is ready to receive documents for review and further analysis of the cases involving Anglo Leasing suspect Deepak Kamani.

The EACC Acting Secretary/Chief Executive Officer Jane Muthaura has in a letter dated March 14, and addressed to the Attorney General Githu Muigai appointed a Senior Forensic Investigator, Henry Mwithia, to lead the team to analyse the Swiss Documents on Anglo Leasing contracts.

Mr Mwithia has been detailed to provide copies of the documents to the AG and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Swiss documents

"The commission is now ready to receive the Swiss documents for review and further analysis," Mrs Muthaura said in the letter copied to the DPP Keriako Tobiko.

Prof Muigai has also written to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Joseph Kinyua, requesting essential documents in their possession to enable him expeditiously proceed with the process.

"In order to enable this office to precede with the recovery proceedings, we require essential documents in your possession relating to the cases. This is to kindly request you to allow my officer access these documents," the AG said in the letter addressed to Mr Kinyua and Mrs Muthaura. The AG further appointed Lawrence Muiruri, a principal Litigation Counsel, to be his liaison in the matter.

Last month, the Swiss Government froze three bank accounts associated with Anglo Leasing suspect Deepak Kamani and opened money laundering charges against him and two Britons.

"The accounts that have been frozen belong to three individuals. The individuals are among those who set up the financial structure," said Swiss ambassador Jacques Pitteloud in Nairobi recently. The two Britons were not named.

Unconfirmed reports say that Kamani-associated companies may have had US$160 million (Sh13.6 billion) in accounts in Geneva with HSBC, Schroders, UBS and Pictet.

In 2009, US national Bradley Birkenfeld was sentenced to 40 months for helping clients hide their money in a multibillion-dollar international tax fraud over Swiss private banking.

Bradley was intimately connected with the Kamani brothers – Deepak and Rashmi – who controlled 13 of the Anglo Leasing companies whose accounts Bradley managed when he worked for UBS.