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UK to repatriate Sh450m stolen by two of Kenya’s richest men

Published

1 year ago

March 30, 2022

The United Kingdom has agreed to repatriate back to Kenya, millions of dollars of public funds allegedly stolen by two of the country’s richest men, following a landmark agreement signed in London on Monday.

The repatriation deal which Kenya struck with Jersey, a self-governing Island in the English Channel, will see the return of the sum of Sh450m allegedly stolen by Samuel Gichuru, a one time boss of Kenya’s power company and former Finance Minister, Chris Okemo

They duo allegedly siphoned the money through taking kickbacks from multinationals which they stashed in a company registered in the Island.

This arrangement, known as the Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime to Kenya (Fracck), gives the Jersey authorities licence to unfreeze money they believe was stolen and send it back before those accused of stealing it go on trial.

The Kenyan corruption web was uncovered after Gichuru had a messy divorce from his wife, Salome Njeri, in 2006; not satisfied with the settlement she got from her estranged husband, Njeri made a report to the police alleging that some of her husband’s assets were being hidden in offshore accounts in Jersey.

The revelation led to a nine-year investigation by the Jersey authorities across 12 jurisdictions and in 2011, the duo were indicted and charged to court.

The were accused of committing economic crimes including cutting deals with a Finnish firm to construct a power station in Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city, and taking millions of pounds in kickbacks from British, Norwegian and German engineering firms, as well as a US communications giant.

The Jersey authorities issued arrest warrants for both men and have been waiting for their extradition from Kenya ever since, while a Jersey-registered company, Windward Trading Limited, accused of laundering money for the two men, pleaded guilty to four counts of money laundering in a Jersey court.

The court ruled that the company, whose ultimate owner was revealed to be Gichuru, should be return more than $4.9m (£3.6m) to the Kenyan government.

Related Topics:corruption Featured Jersey Kenya

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Congo DR: President Tshisekedi visits China for mining renegotiations

Published

2 days ago

May 27, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi is currently on a visit to China to strengthen his country’s partnership with the Asian giant.

An official of Congo DR, Erik Nyindu Kibambe, while addressing journalists in Beijing, revealed that the trip was meant to be for the renegotiation of mining contracts. Kibambe maintained that talks were going “wonderfully.”

The president had previously promised to renegotiate mining contracts, in particular, the one signed in 2008 with China by his predecessor, Joseph Kabila (2001-2019), for better terms in favour of the country.

The president was received by a cheering audience and a line of honour and jubilant children between meetings with Mr Xi and Premier Li Qiang.

Mr. Li told Mr Tshisekedi that he believed “China-DRC relations will surely achieve greater development and benefit both peoples.”

A statement by the Chinese foreign ministry revealed that the countries were upgrading “the bilateral relationship from a win-win strategic cooperative partnership to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.”

Congo is one of the most natural resource-rich nations, holding massive untapped deposits of minerals including cobalt, copper, diamonds and gold amounting to approximately $24 trillion.

China is a major investor in the country where it leads the lucrative mining sector with firms like Sicomines.

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Kenya, IMF agree terms for $3 billion Extended Credit Facility

Published

5 days ago

May 24, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Kenya has reached an agreement that could unlock more than $3 billion of new financing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The international lender and the country said the agreement could help relieve pressure on government finances in East Africa’s largest economy.

The agreement is the fifth review of Kenya’s External Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility arrangements, an extension of the program and augmentation for access under a 20-month Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

Under the agreement, Kenya will get access to $544 million through the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, which is intended to support climate change adaptation and resilience. A total of $3.5 billion had been committed to funding for Kenya under the three facilities, and its executive board would likely consider the staff-level agreement in July.

The IMF stated that the medium-term outlook for the Kenyan economy remained favourable, although the economy had been strained by a challenging external environment. The IMF maintained that the planned fiscal consolidation was appropriate, while also protecting priority social spending.

“Exchange rate flexibility and proactive monetary policy will remain critical to preserving macroeconomic stability and supporting market confidence against the backdrop of a challenging global economic outlook and continued uncertainty in international financial markets,” IMF said in a statement.

Kenya has insisted that it would not default on its debt repayment obligations despite delayed payment of civil service salaries.

The country in April revealed plans to issue a new Eurobond to manage 2024’s maturity of a Ksh270 billion ($2 billion) 10-year bond.