The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has made major arrests following investigations into a massive theft from a government farming support programme. Nine suspects, including top Treasury officials, have been arrested over the alleged theft of more than one and a half billion shillings from the PROFIT Programme.
The PROFIT Programme, which stands for Programme for Rural Outreach of Financial Innovations and Technologies, was set up to help small-scale farmers access affordable loans. The programme ran from 2013 to 2024, but investigations have now uncovered a shocking scheme where officials and business people allegedly stole funds meant to help poor farmers.
Among those arrested are three government workers – the PROFIT Programme Coordinator, the Head of the Accounting Unit at the National Treasury, and a Senior Accountant. Six business owners have also been arrested as part of the scheme. The EACC says the suspects worked together to steal the money through a clever scam that involved fake documents and secret bank accounts.
What makes this case even more serious is how the stolen money was moved around. According to the EACC investigation, officials opened a bank account without proper permission and dumped Ksh175 million into it.
From there, the money was moved to different companies and business people who supposedly sold goods and services to the programme. However, the EACC says these goods were never actually delivered and these services were never actually provided. The money was just stolen.
The investigation found that Ksh1.57 billion was sent to 23 different private businesses, 15 business names, and eight companies. All of these payments were supposedly for supplies or services, but there's no evidence that anything was actually given in return. It was simply a way for the officials and their business associates to share the stolen money among themselves.
What's particularly concerning is how the officials covered their tracks. Investigators say that programme officials used forged and false documents to try to hide what they were doing. They created fake paperwork to make it look like legitimate transactions were taking place when in fact they were just stealing. Some of the money was withdrawn in cash and simply disappeared.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has now approved the prosecution of 20 people in total, including the nine who have been arrested. The suspects are facing serious charges including unlawful acquisition of public property, abuse of office, money laundering, acquiring the proceeds of crime, and creating false documents. These are not small charges they carry harsh penalties because they involve corruption and theft from the public purse.
The nine suspects are expected to appear before the Milimani Law Courts on Wednesday, August 19, for their first court hearing. This is where the judge will formally read out the charges against them. Additionally, another 11 suspects have been told to report to the EACC's offices immediately or face arrest. These additional suspects, including more business owners and programme officials, must hand themselves over for questioning.
The EACC has made it clear that it will pursue the recovery of all the stolen public money and assets that were obtained through this corruption. The commission is also pursuing the forfeiture of property and other assets that officials and business people allegedly bought using stolen funds from the programme.
This case is a stark reminder of how corruption can destroy government programmes that are designed to help ordinary citizens. Farmers who applied for loans through this programme in good faith were being let down by corrupt officials who were stealing the money that should have gone to them.
The EACC's investigation took considerable time and effort, with investigators having to trace money movements, examine documents, and identify all the business entities involved in the scam. Now that the arrests have been made, the courts will have to examine the evidence and decide if the suspects are guilty of these serious crimes.
For now, the case has sent a strong message that even senior government officials are not above the law. The arrest of Treasury officials and a programme coordinator shows that no one in government is too important to face justice for stealing public money.
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