This archive report was first published on 5 December 2019.
December 5, 2019
Former Youth and Gender PS Lilian Omollo is at the center of a Sh33 million confiscation case after the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) urged the High Court to allow the government to seize the funds.
The agency, through senior state counsel Mohamed Adow, argued that the money was obtained from illegitimate sources and that forfeiting suspect funds would deprive criminals of ill-gotten gains, deter, and prevent crime.
According to court documents, an analysis of account-opening forms and statements of accounts belonging to Ms Omollo and her companies revealed massive suspicious cash deposits, withdrawals, and intra and inter transfers to accounts within the same and other banks.
Mr Adow said investigations established that the deposits were mainly made in tranches below Sh1 million to evade the reporting threshold and prudential guidelines set by the Central Bank of Kenya.
Ms Omollo has maintained that no money was lost under her watch and ARA has tabled nothing to prove claims that the monies, which have since been frozen, are proceeds of crime.
However, the agency said it has proved that the funds in the said accounts are from illegitimate sources, having been deposited into the accounts with the sole intention of laundering the same.
The case is set to be heard on January 20, 2020.
