BY SAM ALFAN.
The High Court has allowed a Mandera County official to withdraw Ksh 3 million from his frozen bank account.
The accounts at Equity bank, which hold a total of Sh63 million were frozen on suspicion that they are proceeds of crime.
But High Court judge John Onyiego allowed Abdi Mohammed Ali, a county employee to withdraw only Sh 3 million on humanitarian grounds.
“Abdi Mohammed Ali be and hereby allowed to withdraw Ksh 3,000,000 from account Equity Bank Mandera branch,” ruled the judge.
The judge said this will enable Ali to meet some immediate expenses like payment of school fees arrears and medical expenses.
Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) had opposed Ali’s application but the judge dismissed the objection saying the agency failed to convince him to the required standards.
Ali had urged the court to give him partial and reasonable access to the account, pending the hearing and determination of the application for forfeiture of the money to the state.
He urged the anti-graft court to lift or suspend orders obtained by the ARA.
On March 19, High court issued orders frozing over Sh63 million being held in two accounts belonging to Ali and his wife.
In a ruling, the court ordered the Sh40,806,532.00 million being held in an account of Abdi Mohammed Ali, a county employee and another account jointly held by Ali and his wife Saadia Sheikh Osma, which has Sh21,448,100, be preserved for 90 days.
The two were prohibited from withdrawing , transferring or dealing with the money either by themselves or through their servants, agents or representatives.
Asset Recovery Agency filed an urgent application before High court Anti-corruption court seeking to preserve the money, suspecting it to be proceed of crime, having been siphoned from the Madera County government.
Sergeant Fredrick Musyoki, an investigator with the agency said on the February 20, 2020 they received information that the two accounts were suspected to hold money which is suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Both accounts are held are at Equity Bank Mandera Branch. The Agency said it opened an Inquiry file number 7 of 2020 to investigate the activities in the said accounts for the purpose of ascertaining whether they hold any funds that are proceeds of crime.
And on February 25, 2020, he filed an ex-Parte application seeking orders to search, inspect, seize, freeze and preserve funds in the said accounts owned or controlled by the couple.
The investigator Respondents was granted 14 days.
The investigations later revealed massive cash deposits into the two bank accounts.
“The said bank accounts received suspicious huge cash deposits in Kenya Shillings and the funds are suspected to be stolen and/or fraudulently acquired from Mandera County Government by the Respondents, their agents or representatives and deceitfully deposited into the above accounts”, the agency.
The investigations revealed that the cash deposits were unlawfully acquired hence proceeds of crime pursuant to the Provisions of Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The agency adds that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accounts are used as conduits of money laundering contrary to Sections 3, 4 and 7 as read together with Section 16 of Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
