The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) is investigating a county employee who is said to have amassed Ksh61 million through unexplained ways.
A report by The Standard on Sunday, August 23, indicated that the agency was seeking to have Ali Mohammed Abdi, Mandera County Director of Livestock Production, forfeit Ksh51 million to the state.
He is alleged to have two accounts which possessed Ksh61 million but only Ksh10 million could be linked to his salary. Ali reportedly accumulated the money over a long period of time.
“The said bank accounts received suspicious cash deposits in Kenya shillings and the funds are suspected to be stolen and/or fraudulently acquired from Mandera County by the respondents, their agents or representatives, and deceitfully deposited in the said accounts,” argued the prosecutor.
In his defence, the suspect argued that he had amassed the money through the sale of honey and camels.
Justice John Onyiego, however, dismissed his explanation as a casual justification to the money.
“It is not enough to say such and such account and the deposits were out of the sale of camels, the source of which is not known or supported. Anybody can imagine a figure and even business.
"The respondent’s (Ali) explanation given is quite casual and cosmetic, with no tangible evidence or proof of the existence of any business being undertaken by the first respondent,” ruled the judge.
The money was found in two accounts, one which is a joint account with his wife and the second under his own name.
He is said to have commenced the deposits in 2014 which ranged between Ksh 134,000 and Ksh1 million per transaction.
In March 2020, the High Court had authorised for the accounts to be frozen on suspicion that the employee had stolen money from the County Assembly of Mandera.
The deposits were made from different locations including Garissa, Mandera and Moyale as well as Eastleigh and Westlands in Nairobi.
Justice Onyiengo, in his ruling, allowed the suspect to withdraw Ksh3 million to take care of his family.
