The sentencing of Sirisia Member of Parliament (MP) John Koyi Waluke to 10 years in prison or pay a fine of close to Ksh.1 billion for defrauding a State agency Ksh.297 million sent shock-waves across the country. It was one of the severest punishments ever meted out in the country’s recent history for corruption.
However, it is how the fraudulently-acquired Ksh.297 million was distributed that is more perplexing.
It is a classical example of a heist; a collusion of conniving individuals to defraud the Kenyan taxpayers with a network trailed from Kenya all the way to South Africa.
In March 2013, Erad Supplies & General Contracts Limited (Erad) — a company where Waluke and his co-accused Grace Sarapay Wakhungu are shareholders — invoiced the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) for payments of what it termed as storage of maize in its stores on behalf of NCPB.
The invoices now emerging as forged documents, triggered payments amounting to Ksh.297 million with its purported bailee based in South Africa.
Ksh.297 million from the KCB Kencom branch was wired to Barclays bank for Soita & Saende Advocates that is now at the centre of the money trail. This firm had opened a client account and in just two days the law firm would divide the monies into various accounts.
Former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Barasa is the first beneficiary receiving Ksh.5 million as legal fees.
The same day Ahmednasir Abdikadir & Co Advocates, in two separate transactions, received a total sum of Ksh.40 million detailed as legal fees in the transaction transacted from the NCPB account at the National Bank of Kenya to the First Community Bank that Ahmednasir Abdikadir & Co Advocates hold their account
Ahmednasir Abdikadir & Co Advocates also received money from the NCPB’s dollar account at the cooperative bank and all the millions withdrawn in cash.
The same day, three cheques withdrawals amounting to Ksh.16 million were transacted with beneficiaries not stated.
On the 21st of March 2013, Grace Wakhungu, Waluke’s accomplice, also received a staggering Ksh.40 million shillings from Soita & Saende Advocates.
Ksh.50 million in the fictitious payments were wired to Waluke who EACC says was the mastermind of the grand money heist.
Ksh.112 million ended up to an individual that has not been identified with the transactions suggesting a wider web.
With the invoice that gushed out the millions from the NCPB accounts said to be based in South Africa, EACC detectives were forced to contact South African authorities and later flew all the way to Durban in the province of Kwazulu-Natal.
Two directors of M/s Chelsea Freight, which the accused claimed procured and stored the maize for them recorded statements to the effect that they had no dealings with Erad Supplies and that in fact they neither owned any warehouse nor dealt with maize.
Detectives will in the coming days be trying to unearth the faceless individuals who also benefited from millions of shillings through forged documents.
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