Senior officials involved in various corruption scandals are scrambling to invest their ill-gotten funds outside the country as a multi-agency team steps up the renewed fight against graft.
According to the Standard, a Multi-Agency Task Team (MATT) reporting directly to President Uhuru Kenyatta has already uncovered investment portfolios worth billions amassed over the last few years by high-ranking members of the national and county governments.
Ahead of the lifestyle audit that the same team led by Attorney-General Paul Kihara will oversee, implicated officials have been investing mostly in real estate.
While most of the key investments are in Nairobi's real-estate hotspots and leafy suburbs, others have opted to take their money abroad.
Suspect funds from the officials' accounts have been traced to Malaysia and Dubai, United Arab Emirates among other locations.
[caption caption="AG Paul Kihara"]
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Other agencies that are part of the team include the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Anti-Money Laundering Unit, Asset Recovery Agency, Anti Banking Fraud Unit, Financial Reporting Centre, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Cybercrime Unit and Anti-Counterfeit Body.
Other than prosecution, the team reportedly plans to freeze assets of the suspects held both locally and internationally.
“We are satisfied with the money trail we have followed. If this goes to plan, many of the people under probe will find themselves in unfamiliar waters,” a source told the daily.
The team is also sourcing for polygraph machines to be used during the lifestyle audits.
Previous and current administrations of all the counties are also being looked into even as DPP Noordin Haji confirmed that he was seeking to prosecute 3 more governors after Busia County boss Sospeter Ojaamong was charged.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta"]
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