EACC detectives quiz county staff over Sh120 million fraud

A former county executive and a senior accountant are among 92 employees being investigated over alleged theft of Sh120 million from county coffers.

According to Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the money is said to have been paid out to employees to attend non-existence seminars and induction courses in the financial year 2015/2016.

Yasin Amaro, the anti-graft agency spokesperson, told The Standard yesterday that detectives were conducting forensic investigations to establish why the money was paid without proper documentation.

No evidence

“In most of the cases, there is no evidence to support claims that the money was paid for seminars or training workshops as alleged in some of the documents in our possession,” said Amaro.

Some of the workers have admitted that they were only told to sign documents by finance officers but they did not get any cash or attend any seminar.

Last week, the agency summoned 100 staff believed to have received the cash.

According to a letter addressed to the County Secretary Benjamin Karanja, the staff, who are mostly revenue collectors, will be interrogated by a team of detectives formed specifically to handle the cases.

The letter signed by Hassan Khalid, for EACC chief executive officer, stated that the listed county officers are supposed to carry with them certified copies of their appointment letters.

According to the letter, four detectives will conduct the investigations and record statements from suspects.