Relief for taxpayers as mega scandals return to courts

Politics and policy

 

Swiss Ambassador to Kenya Jacques Pitteloud with Attorney General Githu Muigai at a press conference in Nairobi in July. PHOTO | FILE 

By BRIAN WASUNA, bwasuna@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Kenya banks on legal battles to recover billions of shillings lost in fishy deals.

Kenyan courts presided over some of the biggest corruption cases, offering taxpayers hope of recovering some, if not all, of the funds allegedly swindled from their pockets.

This is the year in which the High Court shot down yet another attempt by businessman Deepak Kamani to stop Kenya from assisting Switzerland with investigations into the Anglo Leasing scandal that saw Kenyans lose more than $600 million (Sh53.4 billion) in fraudulent security contracts.

Switzerland’s investigations into the scandal saw it ask Attorney-General Githu Muigai for documents regarding some individual’s suspected of involvement in the scandal, including Mr Kamani.

The businessman had on July 15 asked the High Court to stop the co-operation, unless the AG furnished him with the same information on him that was to be handed over to the Swiss authorities.

Justice Isaac Lenaola, however, declined to block the Swiss-Kenyan co-operation, and by the August 5 hearing of the matter, Prof Muigai had already handed over dozens of files on Kenya’s investigations into the scandal.

The judge also declined to compel the AG to supply Mr Kamani with copies of contracts his companies had entered into with the government, as he had not evidenced his claim that he was denied documents.

“It is unclear why the petitioners failed to show that they had in fact requested for the information they now seek and the same was deliberately denied and with no reasons for such an action being given so that their right to come to court can be said to have crystallised,” he said.

Mr Kamani further claimed that Swiss Ambassador to Kenya Jacques Pitteloud had tried to extort $55 million (Sh4 billion) from him. The investigations, he added, were a repercussion for refusing to pay the bribe.

READ: Kamani sues Swiss envoy in extortion claim

But Mr Pitteloud denied the claims, arguing that the colossal sum was a “settlement for the irregular contracts entered into by Mr Kamani and the Kenyan government”.

The Euro Bank scandal also returned to the High Court after fallen stockbroker Shah Munge moved to court, seeking to stop the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) from selling its last known assets in the Nairobi bourse to recover lost funds.

NSSF, had in 2009, won a suit against the stockbroker behind the scandal, in which the court awarded it Sh258 million that was to mature to close to Sh2 billion inclusive of interest.

Having ceased operating after the scandal was brought to the fore in 2002, there were no known Shah Munge assets to sell for recovery of the money, until NSSF discovered 1.5 million shares in the stockbroker’s name at the Nairobi Securities Exchange worth hundreds of millions of shillings.

John Munge, a partner at the stockbroker and a director at Euro Bank at the time of the scandal, opposed the move, arguing it had filed a notice of appeal.