It is official: Nearly 148,784 investors lost Sh8.2billion in pyramid scheme thefts in two years.

The ten most egregious swindlers took away Sh7.3 billion, a report Co-operatives Minister Joseph Nyagah tabled in Parliament on Tuesday shows.

The report names key directors of these schemes and identifies some properties and assets derived from theft.

When the noose began to tighten, some directors converted 17 of the pyramid schemes into co-operative societies to avoid investigation.

The directors named include George Oginga Donde, the director of Deci and Tujibebe Sacco. Other proprietors of this co-operative society are Godfrey Kamanda Gakure, a bishop, Ann Zawadi, an advocate and ambassador Mary Odinga.

Others are Sasanet Investment Ltd whose director is identified as Michael Chege and Spell Investments whose deceased director was Boniface Anderson. At his death Sh200 million held in his account at Stanbic Bank was transferred to his mother.

Besides Deci, Clip investments Sacco Ltd, Kenya Business Community Sacco Ltd, Sasanet Ltd and Jitegemee Investment Sacco Ltd others among the top ten swindlers were Circuit Investment, Family in Need Organisation, Global Entrepreneurship, Spell Investment and Mont Blanque Afrique which collapsed with Sh7.3billion from investors.

In early 2007, The Standard exclusively reported the founders of Deci and Kenya Business Community had previously been involved in another financial scam, Kenya Akiba, banned in 2005.

Nyagah disclosed further investigation could yield more because more investors will come to testify.

compensate investors

And Parliament now wants property and assets owned by collapsed pyramid scheme directors seized to repay investors.

It also wants the Central Bank of Kenya CBK to release Sh5 billion held in frozen accounts belonging to the collapsed schemes and amnesty for disgraced directors willing to compensate investors.

These recommendations are contained in the report by a task force on the scam.

It urges CBK to issue a "public statement on the current status of all frozen accounts related to pyramid schemes".

Apart from recommending criminal prosecution of all directors of collapsed pyramid schemes, the task force identified hundreds of bank accounts in local and foreign banks traceable to these schemes.

"These accounts were held in the names of the schemes or directors and were characterised by numerous deposits and huge withdrawals," says the report that identifies assets from proceeds of this organised crime and recommends forfeiture

Clip Investments Sacco Ltd whose director is Peter Ndakwe is believed to have ploughed investors’ money into plots in Nairobi’s Runda Estate worth Sh200 million and later transferred the property to Pakinstar Ltd of Sun Jopskin SA Pentinkson, Panama at the height of complaints by investors.

Michael Chege’s Sasanet Investment Ltd, allegedly bought 30 units of flats worth Sh60 million in Sunrise Estate, 11.5 acres of land in Nyari Estate, Nairobi, four flats along Chaka road in Nairobi and later sold 32 flats at Sh2.5million each in Nairobi’s Imara Daima Estate through his advocate Ajaa Olubayi.

Apart from the Sh200million at Stanbic Bank Spell Investments Ltd had a Sh23 million property in Nairobi’s Lavington Estate.

— Stories by Peter Ochami, Martin Mutua and Alex Ndegwa