Treasury employee refunds Sh24m acquired irregularly to evade prosecution

Under the deal, the man will deposit Sh24 million to EACC as final settlement of the dispute while the court lifts all orders that froze his accounts. [iStockphoto]

A senior employee at the National Treasury has struck a deal with the anti-graft agency to surrender Sh24 million to escape prosecution for accumulating wealth through corruption.

Charles Mutiso, a Deputy Director in charge of external resources at the treasury, signed the consent with Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to settle the dispute out of court.

He will refund the amount in return for his freedom and seized properties. The consent was allowed by Justice Esther Maina who ordered that the dispute be marked as settled and the case withdrawn.

"The agreement shall be served upon the banks to reopen the bank accounts and to the Ministry of Lands to lift the caveat that had been placed on the properties," Maina said.

Under the deal, Mutiso will deposit Sh24 million to EACC as final settlement of the dispute while the court lifts all orders that froze his accounts.

The court also lifted orders that stopped him from dealing with his vehicles and four plots in Embakasi within Nairobi, Matungulu and Donyo Sabuk within Machakos county.

EACC also agreed to return his title deeds relating to the plots, log books of his three vehicles and all sale agreements it had seized from the Treasury official.

The commission had sued the Treasury official to recover millions of shillings he allegedly acquired through corruption, saying their investigations showed Mutiso accumulated assets between 2015 and 2020 which are disproportionate to his legitimate sources of income.

According to the commission, Mutiso was earning an average of Sh118,691 monthly salary between 2015 and 2020 but was receiving unexplained millions of shillings in his three bank accounts at Absa Bank, Co-operative Bank and KCB Bank through inward remittances, EFTs and cash deposits.

They said Mutiso's bank accounts at Absa Bank had Sh40 million which was deposited from unknown sources, Sh2 million at his Co-Operative Bank account and Sh7.6 million at his KCB Bank account.

The commission told the court the large deposits were made into the accounts through frequent deposits at most six times a month while analysis of his M-Pesa account showed he had received deposits amounting to Sh9.8 million.

Mutiso had also acquired the piece of land in Matungulu at a cost of Sh8 million, the one in Donyo Sabuk at Sh3.5 million and several other properties.

"Upon conclusion of investigations, the commission established that he had accumulated unexplained assets amounting to Sh96.6 million. He was asked to explain the discrepancy in his known earnings but he could not," said EACC.

The commission said some Sh46.6 million was allegedly acquired through corruption.