Warrants of arrest out for senior bankers

By Wahome Thuku

Police are looking for two senior bank officials who have allegedly fled the country over a case involving a multi-million shilling property in downtown Nairobi.

Two warrants of arrest have been issued against former Ecobank Executive Director Michael Monari and the bank’s Senior Chief Legal Advisor Wilfred Oroko. Mr Monari is the bank’s CEO in Uganda.

The warrants were issued by Nairobi Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday following an application by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

Police have now enlisted the help of Interpol to track them down.

The CID applied for the warrants on Monday after the High Court in Nairobi dismissed an application by Monari and Oroko to have the Police Commissioner and the Director of Public Prosecutions stopped from arresting, charging and prosecuting them.

Charge

The two are wanted in connection to a registration of a charge against a property located on Mokhtar Dadar Street. The property was owned by businessman Abubakar Habib, who passed away in June 2007.

In 1996 and 1997 he had secured a Sh7.5 million loan from Ecobank (then Akiba Bank), which he had not repaid fully by the time of his death.

The bank continued demanding loan arrears and interest to the tune of Sh105 million and on December 15, 2008 it sold the property to one John Ngururi for Sh60 million.

In an affidavit filed in court on Monday, Mr Gideon Wamocha, attached to the Economic Crimes Unit, claimed the two bankers jointly with other people fraudulently obtained the registration of the charge at the lands office without the consent of the executor (Habib’s legal representative).

"The accused are believed to have fled the country after committing the said offences," he told the court.