Fresh probe on Anglo-Leasing files
Photo/FILE Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission spokesman Nicholas Simani.
By BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com AND PATRICK MAYOYO pmayoyo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, June 21 2012 at 23:30
Posted Thursday, June 21 2012 at 23:30
The anti-graft agency is sifting through the Swiss dossier on the complex money transactions behind the Anglo-Leasing scandal.
Sources said investigators were studying information contained in more than 10 files on the money trail involving the account holders.
But Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) spokesman Nicholas Simani took refuge in the confidentiality clause that protects the rights of individual account holders.
He said they were not ready to make any disclosures on the investigations because they involved specific accounts of people who stashed the cash.
“I have consulted widely in the commission and the common position is that we are not ready to make any comments at this time,” he said on phone.
Swiss ambassador to Kenya Jacques Pitteloud handed the dossier to the government in February and hinted it could herald a breakthrough in unravelling the shady transactions.
Swiss authorities completed investigations into the transactions several years ago, but were unable to present the information to Kenya due to legal challenges and what was largely seen as a lack of political will.
On Thursday, Mr Simani said the dossier included information of individual accounts.
The EACC’s refusal to make any disclosures comes a day after the Nation revealed that Kenyans have stashed away a staggering Sh72 billion (818 million Swiss francs) in Swiss banks.
The information was contained in a new report by Swiss National Bank (SNB) — the Central Bank of Switzerland.
Kenya is among several African countries with hidden wealth in Switzerland. The report shows that other countries whose nationals have stashed away wealth in Switzerland (in billions of Swiss francs) include, Tanzania (183 million), Uganda (154 million), Egypt and South Africa (1.914 billion) and Seychelles (2,515 million), Zimbabwe (96 million), Senegal (150 million), Rwanda (29 million), Sierra Leone (29 million), Somalia (1 million) and Sudan (796 million).
These figures, described by SNB as “liabilities of Swiss banks towards clients from different countries” do not necessarily project the much-talked about black money held by Kenyans in the safe havens of Switzerland.
SNB figures do not include money that Kenyan individuals might have in other names or are managed by wealth funds.
“The total overseas funds in Switzerland’s banking system stood at 1.53 trillion Swiss francs,” the report adds.
At the same time, global pressure has been rising on Switzerland to ask its banks to share information about their clients with foreign governments.
It is suspected that Kenyans having illicit wealth in Swiss banks may be moving their funds for fear of being exposed due to growing scrutiny.
Kenya is suspected to have lost more than Sh100 billion through the Goldenberg foreign exchange scam and Anglo-Leasing security contracts scandals.
Most of the billions stashed away in foreign accounts by influential businessmen and powerful politicians is suspected to be proceeds of defence and security-related contracts and payments of fake debts.
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