Anglo Leasing probe team given 30 more days to submit report

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko has allowed the team investigating files 30 more days to submit report. (Photo:File/Standard)

Nairobi, Kenya: A joint technical team formed to evaluate five Anglo Leasing files forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko’s office has been given 30 more days to finish its work.

The team had Wednesday requested two months but Tobiko allowed them only 30 days to submit the report to him.

“... the joint team is now required to finalise its work and report back within the next 30 working days,” said Tobiko in statement on Wednesday evening.

The statement was also signed by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Mumo Matemu.

Tobiko said the team’s request was necessitated by the nature, magnitude, scale and complexity of the outstanding assignment, new leads to be pursued and outstanding requests for mutual assistance.

He added the request was necessitated by the number of crucial witnesses who are yet to record statements, potential suspects to be interrogated and statement recorded, number of voluminous nature of the documents and report to be reviewed and analysed.

The team was formed on October 30 to address outstanding areas identified as critical to successful prosecution.

EACC had, in late October, sent five files to the DPP recommending that at least ten people be prosecuted over cases in which Kenya lost billions of shillings to faceless companies.

The inquiry files had initially been submitted by the then Kenya Anti-corruption commission (KACC) to the Attormey General in September 2006.

However, upon review of the files, the AG returned them to KACC in October 2006 for further investigations.

Tobiko has declined to expose those named in the files and warned that their disclosure would hamper investigations and urged the public to be patient.

“Investigations into the Anglo-Leasing Scandal have in the past been hampered by numerous legal challenges lodged by suspects including issuance of stay orders, conservartory orders, pre-emptive injuctions and prohibitory orders. This is likely to happen again in the event of a pre-mature disclosure of names of suspects,” said Tobiko.

Matemu announced the suspects were both Kenyans and foreigners, but declined to name them.

Matemu said they had also recommended that the suspects' bank accounts be frozen and that the State seizes money obtained fraudulently.

The development turned a new leaf on the long winding and controversial campaign to unmask the architects of the Anglo Leasing scandal that refers to 18 security-related contracts through which billions of taxpayers' money was lost.