The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has been granted orders seeking to freeze the unexplained wealth of a senior Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) official.
President William Ruto recently nominated the senior officer following a widespread dismissal due to illegal sugar.
The KEBS official owns 19 luxury residences totalling Kes278 million as part of his wealth.
Justice Maina barred the official from selling, transferring, or charging the properties in her orders on May 25, 2023, until the case had been properly heard and decided.
The issue is slated for mention on July 20, 2023, according to a statement released by EACC on Wednesday.
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"The effect of the orders is that the assets will remain frozen until the forfeiture case filed by EACC is fully heard and determined," the statement read.
The Commission said that while holding the aforementioned public office, the official, who had previously served as a senior official at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), had accumulated significant wealth outside of his known legitimate sources of income.
He was a Supervisor in the KRA Domestic Tax Department at the time of his resignation.
He is thought to have obtained the mysterious fortune dishonestly while working as a senior KRA Official.
EACC demands that mysterious assets be turned over to the government as graft proceeds.
An interim injunction obtained in May 2022 has allowed the assets to be protected while the commission conducts its investigations.
According to EACC, investigations established that the accused official amassed wealth that was not commensurate with his known sources of income.
He received substantial successive cash deposits in his various bank accounts, which he needed help demonstrating the source satisfactorily.
According to the EACC, the official accumulated wealth of Kshs 278,472,624 in landed properties, bank accounts, M-Pesa deposits, and automobiles, all of which were valued at a premium to his known lawful sources of income.
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