Govt Official on Ksh390,000 Salary Busted with Ksh570 Million in 22 Bank Accounts

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has applied for the seizure and forfeiture of assets owned by Benson Muteti Musila, a regional manager at the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), saying they are proceeds of crime.

The anti-graft agency tells the court that the assets are part of unexplained wealth worth Ksh952.3 million.

EACC was initially targeting more than Ksh1.03 billion but Mr Musila satisfactorily explained properties with a cumulative value of Ksh78.7 million.

The govt official’s wealth includes half a billion shillings stashed in 22 bank accounts, 27 properties, schools, and shares in multiple companies. EACC claims the assets are linked to kickbacks from contractors to the State.

“The commission pursuant to Section 55(2) of ACECA has instituted a suit seeking forfeiture of the above-stated assets of Sh952,363,824.99 which were acquired at a time the Respondents were reasonably suspected of corruption or economic crimes,” the petition stated.

The anti-graft agency argues that there is no way Mr Musila could have accumulated such wealth on a monthly salary of Ksh390,000.

According to court documents, the public servant amassed the wealth between February 2009 and December 2018, where his pay would have totaled Ksh136 million for the 119 months.

The EACC said multiple deposits were made into Mr Musila’s 21 KCB bank accounts and an account each at Cooperative Bank, NBK and Absa Bank.

The accounts held Ksh567.63 million, which Musila claimed was meant to pay staff and finance general office administration.

He explained that being the regional manager, his salary coupled with supervisory allowances of not less than Ksh750,000 a month meant that he would take home about Ksh1.14 million, much of which he invested in business.

But the EACC dismissed the claims of earning Ksh750,000 in monthly allowances, arguing that the pay did not reflect in his returns filed with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

The properties that EACC is targeting from Mr Musila and his wife include seven apartments, eight commercial and residential plots, two schools — Mumbe Junior Academy and Mumbe Girls High School — as well as shares worth Ksh2.24 million, four vehicles, and Mumbe Hardware store worth Ksh41 million.

The apartments are scattered in Nairobi’s Kariobangi, Dandora, Mathare North, and Imara Daima as well as parcels of land — both agricultural and empty plots –including in high-end Karen earmarked for development. The apartments and land are worth Ksh241.6 million, Business Daily reports.

This comes about a month after the EACC applied to freeze the assets and bank accounts associated with another govt official at the corruption-plagued Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA).

Read more on that HERE – Govt Official Splashed Hundreds of Millions on Houses After Withdrawal of Old Currency Notes

source http://nairobiwire.com/2021/08/govt-official-on-ksh390000-salary-busted-with-ksh570-million-in-22-bank-accounts.html