This archive report was first published on 22 May 2020.
On May 22, 2020, the Anti-Corruption Court made a significant ruling in a case involving real estate firm Tatu City and Kofinaf.
The two firms had applied to have a tax evasion case halted until a suit filed before the Supreme Court on whether anti-graft agency officials can investigate accounts without notifying suspects was settled.
However, Judge Mumbi Ngugi dismissed the case, citing a ruling by the Supreme Court in a case filed by senior lawyer Tom Ojienda that investigators can seek information from banks and other institutions without informing the suspects.
According to the judge, the Supreme Court's decision did not have the effect of stopping the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) from carrying out investigations where there was reason to believe that corruption or economic crime had been committed.
At the heart of the case is a multi-billion real estate project in Kiambu, with allegations of tax evasion and money laundering.
Justice Ngugi ordered the case to proceed to full hearing, stating that the firms had not convinced her that there was a reason to halt the case.
“Its decision did not have the effect of stopping the first respondent (EACC) from carrying on its investigations where there was reason to believe that there was corruption or economic crime committed. In the premises, I find no basis for staying the present proceedings,” she ruled.
