The United States federal government, through the federal Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday, March 25 suspended a Canadian firm from trading in the US.
The Canadian firm, Kallo Inc, was suspended after Kenya accused it of reporting false financial disclosures suggesting it has provided a loan to the Treasury.
The SEC followed up the matter and noted that Kallo was unable to to shed light on disclosures that indicated it had signed a Ksh139.5 billion loan agreement with Kenya.
“There is lack of accurate information of questions regarding the accuracy of statements the company made in fillings with the commission, including a Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2020, filed on March 3,2021.
“The commission has serious concerns, for example, about the accuracy of the company’s claim that it has entered into a contract with the Republic of Kenya to establish a comprehensive healthcare structure,” a statement from the SEC read.
The Business Daily last week reported the disclosures on the SEC website that showed that the Canadian firm had in June 2020 signed a Ksh139.5 billion loan deal with Kenya.
The loan was to upgrade hospitals in the countries at a time when the coronavirus had hit the country strongly. The loan would also cater to the construction of mobile clinics.
The suspension of Kallo Inc follows a protest by the National Treasury dismissing the documents as false and denying any existence of a loan deal.
A statement by the National Treasury cabinet secretary, Ukur Yatani, said that Kenya had lodged an official complaint to SEC over the matter.
“The National Treasury requested SEC to investigate this matter with the potential to irreparably harm Kenya’s fiduciary standing internationally,” Yatani said.
Fillings from the SEC indicate that in June 2020, the Canadian firm finalised contracts with Kenya and Techno-Investment Module Limited for a project and finance contract.
The loan is a 20-year facility charged at two percent plus LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) which currently stands at negative 0.4 percent. This is according to SEC filings.
Kallo Inc will remain suspended till April 7.
