Investigators flag 5000 bank accounts as government intensifies graft purge

Former National Youth Service Director General Richard Ndubai (right) and other suspects linked to loss of NYS funds in Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi. [File, Standard]

President Uhuru Kenyatta has mounted a secret crackdown on ‘graft lords,’ by targeting more than 5,000bank accounts in the latest strategy to win the war against graft.

The Saturday Standard has reliably learnt that these accounts have been placed under scrutiny as investigators shift attention to the beneficiaries of the billions stashed in local and foreign banks.

Under pressure to recover stolen money even as looters are prosecuted, sources said the accounts have been put under a ‘blue tap’, after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) through the Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) started clamping down on those suspected of graft.

Efforts to get an official comment from FRC proved futile but a source at the CBK said for this to work, the process must be handled within the law which requires the investigative agency to seek a court order before the freezing of the account is done.

Yet to recover

This means that the suspects or their lawyers will be notified before their accounts are frozen. The Asset Recovery Agency, which works under the FRC, has already frozen accounts of several fat cats at the Kenya Revenue Authority and suspects of the National Youth Service scams.

Despite prosecuting more than a dozen high profile State officers, the government is yet to recover substantial amounts of the stolen money. Just like his directive on the fresh vetting of all procurement and accounting heads in ministries, departments, agencies and parastatals, the latest probe has been extended to suspects’ friends, close kin and offshore accounts.

The onslaught staged by the government has resulted in the freezing of 28 accounts linked to a top politician and his family. A business mogul is also among those whose accounts have been frozen. Technocrats, upcoming politicians, and seasoned businessmen dealing directly with government entities are under the watch over huge transactions in record time that raise suspicion.

The Saturday Standard has reliably learnt that the government is also going for Sh30 billion in Swiss account belonging to a top politician and this was the essence of Switzerland president’s visit to Kenya last month.

“The government is pursuing about Sh30 billion in Swiss accounts belonging to a top State officer. Though he used a friend to bank the amount, the government traced and liaised with the Swiss government, resulting in freezing of the account,” disclosed a top government official privy to the probe.

Likewise, he disclosed: “The government is also going for assets in Dubai amounting to over Sh40 billion which have been a subject of conflict with a former politician. The affected politicians are in the picture and they know the happenings.”

This comes at a time when the country continues to tighten the loopholes in the banking system to ensure that banks report all suspicious activities. This has seen a number of people opt to keep their money at home and find safer ways to inject it back into the financial system.

Saturday Standard has also learnt that Immigration officers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport have increased surveillance on people leaving with large amounts of cash. This week, a number of traders who frequently travel to China complained of harassment when the officers pounced on them and asked that they explain the source of funds and where they were headed.

The 5,000 accounts affected allegedly breached the procurement and financial laws and the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities reserved or the youth, women and persons with disability.

Without disclosing the total amount targeted, informers within the National Intelligence Service and office of Directorate of Criminal Investigations said the president is determined and there are strict instructions that no one should be shielded.

“The recovery of looted funds is not selective. We are under strict instructions to investigate all those whose accounts have been flagged through IFMIS.

“People have misused the offices they hold to award tenders to undeserving Kenyans, creating a new group of haves and have nots. We cannot have a small per cent of the population owning 90 percent and only 10 percent left to the rest,” said another.

Close allies and friends of top politicians have also not been spared by the purge as one has been slapped with Sh2.5 billion tax evasion bill, another State officer is being sought over the presence of Sh1.7 billion in his account while another second term legislator has allegedly bought land in Rift Valley region and in Karen at Sh217 million in record time.

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