Details of How County Govt Officials Looted Ksh22 Million Within Hours
The Auditor General’s findings regarding Murang’a County’s finances for the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 have outlined instances of questionable transactions resulting in a loss of Ksh22 million.
As per the auditor general, the funds vanished several months before the current administration took office.
The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) disclosed the method of cash embezzlement, outlining the creation of a suspicious account where large amounts of money would be deposited.
The funds would subsequently be redirected or withdrawn under ambiguous circumstances, and at one juncture, more than Ksh20 million disappeared shortly after entering the bank account.
It was stated that the misuse of funds commenced in the 2020/2021 fiscal year when the former county executive established a bank account named Small Traders Empowerment Fund Account.
Although the intention behind the account was not explicitly stated, it promptly received a deposit of Ksh22 million, which was made in two separate transactions.
The initial sum of Ksh12 million was placed on deposit on April 12, 2021, with the remainder deposited on January 31, 2022.
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The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) outlined in detail the documentation, mentioning that subsequently, the Murang’a County Government established a new bank account titled the Small Traders Empowerment Loan Account.
A portion of the funds previously held in the old account was transferred to the new account in uniform increments of Ksh10 million.
“Review of records revealed that an amount of Kshs.20,000,000 was transferred from the Small Traders Empowerment Fund Account to the Small Traders Empowerment Loan Account in two equal installments of Ksh10 million each on January 27, 2022, and February 4, 2022,” the report detailed.
The two sets of funds were promptly transferred to a different account under the name Wachuuzi as soon as they were received.
Several hours after the transactions commenced, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) lost track of the documentation as unidentified individuals withdrew the funds without providing an account of how it was used.
“As at the time of audit in October 2023, the Small Traders Empowerment Fund Account and the Small Traders Empowerment Loan Account had a credit balance of Ksh9,190 and a Nil balance respectively,” it was revealed.
“In the circumstances, the regularity and completeness of transferred funds of Ksh.21,990,810 could not be confirmed.”
Details of How County Govt Officials Looted Ksh22 Million Within Hours
