It has now emerged that some suspects in the multi-billion-shilling National Youth Service (NYS) scandal withdrew most of the cash looted from the youth agency before their accounts were frozen.
Daily Nation reports that one of the prime suspects, James Thuita Nderitu managed to withdraw more than Sh1.5 billion before the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) obtained orders to freeze the accounts.
Court documents show that Thuita, companies linked to him and his estranged wife received Sh1.61 billion from the NYS in the months to November 2017.
He was however able to withdraw a huge part of the cash and only Sh33.8 million was left in his 10 banks accounts premised at Standard Chartered Bank and Equity Bank on September 7th, 2018, when ARA was granted freezing orders.
“Mr. Nderitu and his estranged wife, Yvonne Wanjiku Ngugi, are among dozens of civil servants and business people who have been charged with loss of hundreds of millions at the NYS through fictitious invoices for goods such as firewood and stationery and multiple payments on one supplier invoice,” the report in the Business Daily says.
ARA now wants the court to grant it orders to seize his property which include residences in Thome, Garden and Runda estates.
“There is reasonable ground to believe that the accounts of the respondents were used as conduits of money laundering contrary to Sections 3, 4 and 7 as read together with section 16 of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act,” ARA says in court documents.
It adds: “An investigator said in an affidavit that the banks accounts including those of Mr Nderitu’s firms — Flagstone Merchants, Excella, Firstling and Interscope — were used as conduits for money laundering.”
ARA says Firstling Supplies Limited received a whooping Sh612 million in one day from NYS wired in eight installments. In a period of three months, the company received Sh876.4 million.
By the time court issued freezing orders, the account only had Sh6.28 million. Another company linked to Thuita, Flagstone Merchants received Sh278.6 million within a period of two months, including Sh235 million in one day, and only Sh1.2 million remains in the account.
Firstling is registered in the name of Thuita and his estranged wife, Yvonne Wanjiku Ngugi. The two were once married but now claim to have divorced.
Of course they withdrew!…
Of course they withdrew! Kenya is way behind when it comes to criminal, investigative and judicial matters. The moment they identify the suspects, their priority ought to have been the need to do an emergency court filing, get an immediate temporary order so ARA can freeze their bank account/businesses until the judge’s ruling.
Kenya is a MISERABLY failed…
Kenya is a MISERABLY failed State.
Even I don’t think Thuita…
Even I don’t think Thuita and his wife are Estranged. They’re “faking” for Legal reasons.
If they got the money out,…
If they got the money out, is there no trail left? Unless the investigators themselves are compromised, that’s a lot of money to hide. Do you want to tell us they bought maandazi? Someone is playing jokes here!
It is good time to return…
It is good time to return the Nyayo house for these thugs. If they put James Thuita Nderitu and his wife in Nyayo house for 2 weeks. They will say where they put their money.
See? No wonder:
Group Pushes…
See? No wonder:
Group Pushes for Re-introduction of Mandatory Paramilitary Training for Kenyan High School Leavers
https://www.mwakilishi.com/article/kenya-news/2018-12-10/nys-scandal-suspect-james-thuita-withdrew-sh16-billion?cid=h
Some banks seem to have…
Some banks seem to have become accomplices. Look at how many bank employees are laid off silently every year. We are stuck in the middle between robbers in the streets and robbers behind the banking hall. Looks like most of the scam tenderpreneurs, the white collar criminals and rogue bankers all attended the same schools, around the same time; they only took different subjects or majors. But their unquenchable greed to cheat the system is in the blood and the brains and every nerve is wired (rigged) to swindle. If you have nothing to be swindled they lie to you bad style. As it were in my village, these people’s lies are so refined they can fuel and fly a plane!
Though I don’t approve sects…
Though I don’t approve sects like ‘Mungiki’, sometimes I think it’s appropriate to organize such a gang and mercilessly demand their share from such thieves. The said money has being lost in the presence of police and banks. Kama mambo ni haya…basi kiumane. We better be stateless!!!!.
Financial institutions are…
Financial institutions are in the midst of these cases. They know better except that there are no consequences in Kenya. In other countries such as the United states banks are scared of regulations. In most cases their officers and the institution itself are directly held accountable for most of these scams.In our Kenya it has been open season for decades. Stealing of public funds has become a form of art. The prosecution is dismal. We only read the headlines in the papers then the cases die somewhere in a twilight zone. The perpetrators have nothing to fear since they know that those cases end up going nowhere. The quickest way to become a millionaire is to acquire a government job. What a country? Shame on the government for allowing this disease to continue infecting majority of Kenyans. The disease is called corruption. Fleecing of Kenyans continues unabated. Shame, shame, shame. Wake up good people.
Someone help me out, if one…
Someone help me out, if one dude alone stole one billion, how much money was actually lost. I think prezo should create a ministry of thievery and deterrence. We just need to be asking loans from this guys instead of china
If the USA can indict and…
If the USA can indict and convict Michael Cohen within six months why are so many financial crooks in Kenya allowed to prolong their cases for so many years? None of these crooks ever see the inside of a jail. We need to dismantle the the current judicial system since it is corrupt as hell.