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Tobiko’s office, EACC meet over Anglo Leasing cases

The team discussed pertinent and critical gaps concerning five files that were handed over to the office of the DPP by the anti-corruption body/FILE

The team discussed pertinent and critical gaps concerning five files that were handed over to the office of the DPP by the anti-corruption body/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 30 – A joint consultative meeting was held on Thursday between the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission over the Anglo Leasing cases.

The team discussed pertinent and critical gaps concerning five files that were handed over to the office of the DPP by the anti-corruption body.

In a statement sent to newsrooms signed by the heads of the two institutions, it was agreed to seal all the loopholes in order to facilitate a successful prosecution of the culprits.

A joint technical team was formed to expeditiously address the outstanding issues identified during the meeting and report back after 30 days.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission recommended the prosecution of several individuals linked to the multi-billion shillings Anglo Leasing scandal on October 16.

Those the EACC wants charged are said to have played direct or indirect roles in the scandal whose investigations had stalled for years.

On May 15, President Uhuru Kenyatta authorised the immediate payment of a controversial Sh1.4 billion Anglo Leasing debt, saying further delays were putting the country’s economy at risk.

He stated Kenya had exhausted all judicial options to forestall payment of the debt following judgments issued by courts in Geneva and London.

State House said The Treasury had been instructed to pay Sh1.43 billion, which was the outstanding figure following numerous negotiations with the claimants who initially claimed Sh1.64 billion.

The start of the Anglo Leasing scandal was the contracting of a loan in December 2003 by the Department of Immigration which was then under the Office of the Vice President and Ministry of Home Affairs.

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The purpose of the loan was to enhance security by modernising the issuance of secure passports and purchase of security equipment for use at Kenya’s borders.

The procurement process was however abused and a company going by the name Anglo Leasing and Finance Company Ltd was awarded the tender and Sh93 million paid up-front.

This became public on May 4, 2004 when the matter was raised in Parliament.

Subsequent review revealed that in the external public debt database, there were a total of 18 contracts similar to the one arranged by the Anglo Leasing and Finance Company Ltd and from then on these loan contracts were labelled Anglo Leasing.

Investigations revealed that the contracting of loans similar to Anglo Leasing had been going on in the Government for a long time.

In August 2004, the Ministry of Finance suspended payments of all the loans similar to Anglo Leasing and instructed the Controller and Auditor-General to carry out a special audit.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also investigated the matter and on March 30, 2006, its chairman tabled the report on “Special Audit on Procurement of Passport Issuing Equipment.” The report was adopted by Parliament on 4th April 2006.

It covered all the 18 contracts and recommended that all contracts that had not been commenced should be terminated while those which had commenced should be re-negotiated with strict adherence to procurement regulations and procedures.

It also recommended investigation and prosecution of all implicated.

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