Rogue banks to face charges for lost NYS funds, says DPP

DPP Nordin Haji at a past function. He has maintained banks that handled the NYS loot will be punished. [File, Standard]

Kenya’s public prosecutor said yesterday that his office will target banks and their staff for their involvement in the handling of funds lost from the National Youth Service.

Kenya has been hit by a new spate of scandals involving bogus tenders and suppliers that allegedly resulted in the theft of hundreds of millions of shillings by state officials from several Government bodies.

A court has charged 43 suspects, including state workers and business people, over 1 billion shillings missing from the Government-run National Youth Service (NYS) training scheme, with the prosecutor saying half of it had been determined to be fraudulently acquired.

Authorities are also investigating 10 financial institutions suspected of handling funds that were stolen from the NYS.

Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji said his office will also go after individuals found to have facilitated the transactions.

“Very soon, once those investigations are complete, you will see the banks being prosecuted,” he said.

 “Not only the banks. We are also going to go for the tellers and the managers who authorised those huge withdrawals, because our argument is they must have been part of the conspiracy to allow such huge withdrawals.”

President Uhuru Kenyatta pledged to stamp out corruption when he was first elected in 2013 but critics say he has been slow to pursue top officials and ministers.

Kenyatta, who was elected for a second term last year, has spoken out recently against graft and urged the judiciary “to ensure fair trials and justice”.