Millions of Anglo Leasing Money Frozen in Switzerland

Efforts to repatriate graft money stashed in Swiss banks have kicked off on a high note after millions of money linked to graft was frozen in Switzerland.

More than Ksh200 Million suspected to be proceeds of Anglo leasing scandal has been frozen in Swiss bank accounts.

"Money has been frozen in Switzerland in relation to the Anglo-Leasing case in the amount of approximately $2 million,” Saskia Salzmann, a diplomatic attaché at the Embassy of Switzerland to Kenya told the Business Daily.

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She also hinted that this may be the first allotment of stolen funds to be returned to Kenya.

Ms Salzman noted the cash is being returned on condition that judicial proceedings on the case will come to an end and a final and executable judgment is delivered.

“The Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime in Kenya is not limited to a specific case or amount of money to be returned,” she noted.

Anglo leasing is one of the largest scams in Kenya where approximately Ksh 5billion was lost to unscrupulous tenders.

18 security-related contracts were awarded to companies that did not render services and the goods they were paid for.

Top government officials mentioned in the scandal included former Vice President Moody Awori, former Internal Security Minister Chris Murungaru and the late former Finance Minister David Mwiraria.

Early this month, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Swiss counterpart Alain Berset signed a pact dubbed Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime in Kenya.

The agreement will see the reclamation of funds and properties acquired through graft and stashed abroad.

[caption caption="The central Bank of Kenya"][/caption]

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