The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has obtained court orders to freeze a bank account belonging to a civil servant over suspicious transactions.
According to the court documents, Samuel Njoroge Kariuki had transacted over Sh75 million in his account at Equity Bank despite earning a net salary of Sh32,000 to Sh42,000.
Kariuki worked as a junior officer at Environment Ministry since January 2018, with the EACC raising questions over the source of the Sh79million since the civil servant has no other known source of income.
According to EACC, Kariuki earned an initial salary of Sh27,000 as an employee at a charity organization based in the United Kingdom.
“That apart from his salary, the respondent received numerous large sums of money from his employer the Ministry of Environment and Forestry amounting to Sh79,763,944,” reads court papers.
The commission launched a probe into his dealings after a recent transaction of Sh25 million.
According to EACC, Kariuki’s account currently has Sh22, 467,999 which had not been utilized.
The commission also noted between March 2019 and March 2022, Kariuki received an imprest of Sh.3.9 million for the purchase of snacks.
EACC asked the court to freeze the account to allow investigations into possible abuse of office and misuse of public funds.
“Investigations established that 2nd February and 5th February 2021 public funds designated as purchase of snacks were irregularly acquired and spent,” reads the court documents.
“The Commission’s findings have raised reasonable suspicion that considering the respondent’s salary, the credits into his bank account are disproportionate to his known legitimate known sources of income, and could have been obtained through corrupt conduct.”
Justice Ogembo ordered that the account should be frozen for six months, during which time EACC should compile a comprehensive report on the matter.
“(I direct) that the matter is fixed for mention before the Presiding Judge, ACEC Division on May 9 for further directions,” Justice Ogembo ordered.
