Thursday, October 8, 2020 – The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) was unable to trace Ksh5 billion which had been allegedly deposited into bank accounts linked to Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua.
According to documents filed in court by ARA, the MP, who is also Deputy President William Ruto’s confidant, reportedly received a total of Ksh12.5 billion in suspicious payments since 2013.
The Agency stated that Ksh7.3 billion was withdrawn from the accounts in question, and which could be supported by relevant documents, leaving a deficit of Ksh5 billion which could not be supported by withdrawal documents.
The ARA petitioned the court on Wednesday to allow the agency to seize Ksh200 million which remained in the accounts.
“Preliminary investigations established that the respondents were involved in a suspected complex scheme of money laundering involving several companies, which initially received funds from Government Ministries and State agencies and later transferred the funds to companies/business entities associated with Gachagua and ultimately transferred the funds to Gachagua’s accounts.”
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the said accounts received and are holding funds which are believed to be proceeds of crime and the accounts were used to execute a complex money laundering scheme in an effort designed to conceal, disguise and hide the nature, source, movement and disposition of the funds,” the court was told.
The MP, who once served as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s PA, has denied that he is a billionaire, adding that he wished to become a genuine billionaire as claimed.
“People are just pushing narratives and attributing a lot of money to us, and those are good prayers.”
“One day I believe I will be a genuine billionaire and not the one being created on social media,” he revealed in the past interview.
Rigathi is also involved in a tussle between a firm associated with the lawmaker and a Chinese company, China Petroleum.
E! News Blog
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