Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), George Kinoti
The cartels made billions of dollars on the dam transactions but they had to work out complicated schemes to get those dollars back in Kenya from Italy.
In a recent corruption and money-laundering case against Italians responsible for building two Mega dams in Kenya, special agent with DCI Investigations George Kinoti explained how money was paid to Italy but ended back in Nairobi and withdrawn in form of dollars.
While many corrupt suspects take the risk of smuggling profits back to Kenya in bulk, more sophisticated methods used to launder money to avoid seizures by border patrol have been revealed . To do that, they used basic methods: through financial institutions money laundering.
The Sh6.3 billion – 10 per cent of the total cost for the two dams – was wired by Treasury to Milan in Italy in 2017.
However, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) says Sh4 billion was re-routed to a bank in London and soon after to another bank in Nairobi.
“We have the account number the money was sent to in London and Nairobi. We don’t know why the money was being sent to Nairobi and that is part of our investigations,” DCI Director George Kinoti said
Once in Nairobi, the money was withdrawn in US dollars from a bank in Westlands, Mr Kinoti said.
“The Italian contractors say they don’t have money because it was taken away. They can’t explain, yet we are servicing a loan as a country. This is sad and merciless,” he said.
Kinoti claimed the Sh4 billion “is in people’s houses.”
Detectives want to find out the reason the money found its way back to Kenya in their ongoing investigations into the stalled Sh63 billion Kimwarer and Arror dam projects in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
The Sh6.3 billion was reportedly for mobilisation of resources to enable Italian firm, CMC di Ravenna, start the projects.
Banks that loaned the country Sh65 billion for the two dams have written to the Treasury seeking a settlement of their demand notes.
This means Kenya will start repaying loans for a project that exists only on paper.
The projects were to be undertaken by Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA), CMC di Ravena and Itinera of Italy.
According to records at KVDA, Arror Dam was to cost Sh38.5 billion while Kimwarer Dam in Keiyo South was to gobble up Sh28 billion.
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