The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is rolling up his sleeves around high-flying Treasury officials and directors of two firms connected with the Sh5.6 billion e-Citizen scandal.
Reports indicate that the DCI has launched investigations into the controversial online payments portal, in a major probe that could turn the spotlight on powerful government officials.
“We have started investigations and will keep Kenyans informed of the progress as we move on,” a senior DCI officer prior with the investigations said.
The officer said that preliminary information points to a well choreographed theft scheme by some Treasury officials, well connected politicians and top KRA officials.
The DCI wants to unwrap how the Sh5.6 billion mysteriously disappeared from the e-Citizen pay bill account, which was being managed by a local firm allegedly contracted to collect payments from Kenyans seeking government services.
It is understood the money could not be traced after the Court barred Goldrock Capital limited from operating the account that was receiving millions per day from Kenyans applying for various services.
While the DCI will cast a wide net to establish how the billions disappeared ‘into thin air’, detectives would also be keen to find the nexus between top Treasury officials and the firms at the centre of the missing cash.
It is not clear how Goldrock Capital Limited, a private firm, allegedly took over the role of the Kenya Revenue Authority by receiving billions of shillings from Kenyans without any approval from the Treasury.
The KRA is the primary agency authorised by law to collect revenue for the government and any other agency would require Parliament’s approval or appointment by the Treasury.
The Treasury has denied authorising the private firm to collect money on behalf of the government.Most government operations have been centralised and all payments from those seeking state services are channeled through the e-Citizen platform.
For instance, application for a three-year driving license renewal costs Sh1,400, while a one-year license goes for Sh600. The NTSA then charges a mandatory Sh50 convenience fee in addition to the renewal charges.
Application for a certificate of good conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations costs Sh1,050 inclusive of charges.
With thousands of Kenyans applying daily for such documents, eCitizen could be collecting millions of shillings per day, making it one of the country’s biggest single-revenue generation platforms.
Meanwhile, the DCI has forwarded the dams investigation file to Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji. He is expected to recommend any time soon the prosecution of senior government officials alleged to have benefited from the Sh21 billion scam.
Part of the money is said to have been released as a down payment to CMC di Ravenna the broke Italian firm for the construction of the Arror and Kimwarer dams in Elgeyo Marakwet.
In the eCitizen probe, the DCI would seek to know if KRA commissioner general John Njiraini was aware that a private firm had been ‘engaged’ by the Treasury to collect money from taxpayers on the taxman’s behalf.
What would be of much interest to the investigators are reports that Goldrock Capital limited managed to set up an M-Pesa pay bill over which the Treasury had no control and which started collecting money from Kenyans ostensibly on behalf of the government.
The e-Citizen is an online platform, through which the government provides essential services such as applications for passports, driving licences, business registration, motor vehicle logbooks and title deeds.
The detectives would also seek to establish the recipient of Sh50, a convenience fee charged on each transaction made through the platform.
With thousands of transactions done in a day, a ‘faceless’ personality whom the DCI would be interested to unmask could have been pocketing millions of shillings in fee charge commission.
Several ministries, counties and government agencies use the platform to receive payments for their services to Kenyans with a convenience fee of Sh50 charged for each transaction.
Goldrock had in June 2017 sued the National Treasury for denying it access to the platform’s M-Pesa pay bill number that receives billions of shillings from individuals seeking government services through the online portal.
In fresh affidavits, the firm saysIn response, PS Thugge had stated in court documents that the government did not authorise any private firm to receive e-Citizen payments on its behalf.
Thugge said the Treasury only authorised Webmasters Kenya to train government officers to handle the portal. He said any contract to hire a firm to collect revenue was null and void.
Thugge said in his response, “I am aware that Goldrock Capital is not authorised by the National Treasury CS to collect revenue for and on behalf of the government.”
The e-Citizen portal was developed in 2013 with funding from the World Bank’s private lending arm IFC and other donors but rolled out in July 2014.
IT firm Webmasters Kenya was contracted to develop the portal, while Goldrock was subcontracted under mysterious circumstances to develop a non-cash payment system for the project.
However, it emerged that Webmasters Kenya, the developers of the eCitizen platform, had no contract at all with the Treasury to develop the software.
In nasty court battles, details would be revealed of the complex web of ownership involving Goldrock and Webmasters Kenya and its sister company Webmasters Africa.
Coincidentally, the filings showed that Goldrock Capital and Webmasters Africa share directorships, exposing massive interests by undisclosed ‘directors’ in the control of the government’s onlineCOURTESYe payment platform.
According to court documents filed in September 2018, Sidney Ngunyi Wachira, the chief executive officer of Goldrock Capital, is also a director of Webmasters Africa.
The documents also revealed that it was Webmasters Kenya, wholly owned by a James Ayugi, which built the World Bank-funded e-Citizen platform after being contracted by the government.
Webmasters Africa has 10 directors, including Wachira and Ayugi, indicating that all companies involved in the mysterious collection of funds are related.Yesterday Ayugi declined to comment on whether the matter is under investigation.
“I can’t comment as the matter is in court,” he said.
Ayugi has sued the Treasury, seeking payments for the development of the e-Citizen platform after his firm was kicked out of the management of the online cashless system.