A Magistrates Court has set the ball rolling for anti-graft detectives to investigate former Agriculture Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri over alleged money laundering.
This after the city court allowed the Assets Recovery Agency(ARA) to probe Mr Kiunjuri’s accounts at Equity Bank. The lender is required to surrender account opening documents, statements of accounts, cheque deposits, withdrawal slips and electronic cash transfers.
Investigations into Kiunjuri are linked to the recent High Court order where bank accounts of Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua were frozen. Some of the Ksh5.8 billion Gachagua allegedly received came from the National Irrigation Board, which was under the Ministry of Agriculture during the Mr Kiunjuri’s tenure.
ARA petitioned the court to allow it to investigate whether funds from the irrigation board were wired to Mr Kiunjuri’s bank accounts through Mr Gachagua or his associates.
The magistrate granted the orders and ordered Equity Bank to provide electronic evidence of the transactions in Kiunjuri’s accounts from January 1, 2014 to date.
The agency also has leeway to investigate and access the bank accounts held in companies that they suspect to be owned or associated with Mwangi Kuinjuri, including Petlico Agencies Company Ltd, Karandi Farm Ltd, Skytop Agencies, Riang International Group, Encartar Diagnostic Ltd and Beth Wacheri Wacunga.
