This archive report was first published on 7 December 2019.
On March 10th, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board, including 36 Kenyans.
Four Indonesian nationals, Ivan Henry, Vini Wulandari, Gustavina Komala Gani, and Mohammad Narobby, have been accused of attempting to bribe Kenyan families of the victims to switch lawyers.
According to The Star, Kenyan police and immigration officers were tipped off about the four foreigners' bribery mission in the country by a friend of a family member represented by Clifford Law Offices.
The four Indonesians face possible deportation after they were summoned by the Immigration Department on November 27th, 2019, under section 49 (8) of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act 2011.
It is alleged that the suspects offered cash to Kenyan families to lure them into dropping their current attorneys and instead hire Steve Marks of Podhurst Orseck in Florida and New Jersey-based lawyer, Arthur E. Ballen.
One of the suspects, Vini Wulandari, allegedly contacted the affected families, pretending to provide news about the court case in Chicago, before asking them to meet and offering them cash to switch lawyers.
Another suspect, Ivan Henry, reportedly confessed that they offered local lawyers up to $30,000 (Sh3 million) and $20,000 (Sh2 million) to plane crash victims' families.
Many law firms are eyeing a piece of compensation funds from Boeing, which in September announced plans to begin paying $50 million to families of more than 300 victims of two 737 Max crashes.
