Anti-graft agency stops theft of Sh14.5 billion in economic crimes war

The anti-graft agency stopped the theft of Sh14.49 billion of taxpayer funds in the period to June last year, fresh data shows, underlining enhanced efforts to stem economic crimes.

Data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the amount of money involved in the theft detected and prevented by the Ethics and Antic-Corruption Agency (EACC) tripled from Sh4.7 billion in the 2017/18 period.

The agency recovered Sh4.5 billion worth of public assets, up from Sh3.87 billion the previous year.

The value of public assets traced marginally rose to Sh2.69 billion from Sh2.32 billion in 2018/19.

The sharp rise came in a period when the EACC and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) stepped up the fight against graft and other economic crimes such as money laundering, leading to the arraignment of senior public officials.

The crackdown involved dramatic arrests of high-profile suspects from private and government entities, including governors and Cabinet Secretaries. The public officials have since been barred from office amid on-going investigations.

The State has since last year also introduced a stiffer penalties for corruption culprits and increased funding to the EACC and the DPP’s office.

For instance, bank accounts held by top State officials and companies caught up in fraudulent tenders have been frozen.

This is a departure from the recent past when top officials linked to economic crimes stayed in office even as cases against them remained active in court.

Former EACC chairman Philip Kinisu in March 2016 warned that the State was losing about a third of annual budget, highlighting the need to curb graft in the country.