Ex-Treasury boss loses bid to reverse seizure of his assets over Anglo Leasing scam
A former chief accountant at the Treasury linked to the Anglo-Leasing scandal has failed in his bid to reverse the seizure of his multi-million shilling assets by the State.
This is after Patrick Ochieno Abachi forfeited multi-million shilling assets, including five cars, four apartments in Nairobi, a residential home and nine parcels of land in Machakos and Kajiado, to the State.
The court found that Abachi and his accomplices could not demonstrate that they would suffer losses if the High Court judgment in March requiring the property be forfeited to the State were not suspended.
In March, High Court judge Mumbi Ngugi said that Abachi failed to account for his wealth when granted a chance to do so saying that he is satisfied with the evidence placed before the court by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission(EACC).
“The assets are not commensurate with his known legitimate source of income, which was his salary. In the circumstances, I am constrained to find that the assets, the subject of this, are unexplained assets,” Justice Ngugi said.
The commission said investigations revealed that Abachi was directly involved in the Anglo Leasing transactions and authorised the payments to the phony companies.
A special audit on the contracts later found that the government suffered loss due to single sourcing and there was absence of complete information on the work, goods or services delivered in respect of each contract.
The property linked to the Anglo Leasing scam was involved in the award of State contracts worth Sh70 billion to non-existent firms.
Government funds were paid to shadowy foreign companies for services ranging from forgery-proof passports to naval ships and forensic laboratories, which never materialised.
The transactions became known as the Anglo Leasing scandal after the name of the company that was awarded the first of the contracts.
The Anglo Leasing-type contracts related to 18 deals entered by the government with phony companies, and which were paid billions of shillings.
The forfeited assets include nine parcels of land in Mavoko and Kitengela, a four-bedroom house in Mavoko, four apartments in Parkview Estate in Nairobi’s South C area, a house in Mugoya Estate and property in Mombasa’s Nyali area.
Abachi was also ordered to surrender five motor vehicles, an undisclosed amount of money held in three bank accounts and Sh1.99 million in hard cash that was seized from his house in November 28, 2007.
Abachi’s questionable wealth is found to have accumulated within five years after he joined the Treasury in 2003 from his previous job at the Agriculture ministry where he earned a gross salary of Sh54,000.
By 2008, Abachi had acquired properties worth more than Sh80 million, which he registered in his names, those of his wife, children and relatives as well as companies where he is the majority shareholder.
According to EACC, Abachi acquired one of the houses for Sh54 million in 2006, one of the apartments for Sh5 million in 2005, two other apartments in Parkview for Sh9 million and parcels of land in Kajiado and Mavoko between 2004 and 2005.
The commission said the properties were proceeds of crime because he failed to indicate them in his wealth declaration forms and were also not commensurate with his salary.
A tabulation by the EACC showed that Abachi used to make daily deposits, amounts that would add up to Sh70,000 in two days and a minimum of Sh300,000 monthly, yet he earned a net salary of Sh35,000.
However, Abachi defended himself saying the search at his house was illegal and a violation of his rights maintaining that he had the right to own property and that he paid for the house in Mugoya in two instalments through a government house purchase scheme.
He claimed that he bought the properties in Mavoko between 1999 and 2000 from his salary and allowances at Sh300,000 and put up a four-bedroom house.
Some of the properties, he maintained, were acquired from proceeds of a bar and restaurant business and loan from bank.
