This archive report was first published on 6 July 2020.
Assets Recovery Agency Pursues Nairobi Governor Over Ksh500M Wealth ¶
Published on July 6, 2020
Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko is facing a Ksh500 million wealth recovery case after the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) accused him of illegally amassing the wealth between August 2017 and December 2019.
The agency claims that the source of the governor's wealth was questionable and was stashed in 10 bank accounts. The deposits reportedly started on August 17, 2017, where the accounts associated with Governor received Ksh30 million in 24 transactions, with the smallest transaction pegged at Ksh175,000.
Four days later, a further Ksh8.8 million was deposited in the accounts while subdivided in 11 transactions. The 10 bank accounts are also spread out across different banks.
The agency further accused the governor of engaging in smurfing, a technique in which huge chunks of money are subdivided into small amounts and deposited in multiple accounts in different banks by different people.
However, the governor has denied the allegations, claiming that he is a victim of witch-hunt and that the ARA was yet to prove that he acquired the wealth illegally.
“I have not seen any evidence or proof of alleged money laundering or proceeds of crime attributable to me as alleged, or at all, adjudged as such by any court of law, or reported by any competent authority as constituting such proceeds of crime or money laundering,” argued the governor.
“I believe that it was not open to the ARA to make blanket allegations of ‘suspect funds’ in my generalised bank accounts while approaching the court for such draconian orders against me,” added the governor.
