The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested nine suspects over allegations of embezzlement and the fraudulent disbursement of Ksh1.57 billion under the Programme for Rural Outreach of Financial Innovations and Technologies (PROFIT).
The suspects include the PROFIT Programme Coordinator, the Head of the Accounting Unit at the Treasury, and a Senior Accountant at the Treasury, as well as six business owners.
In a statement, the EACC said the arrests followed the probe into the alleged diversion and fraudulent payments amounting to Ksh1,569,582,338.20 under the PROFIT Programme, which the National Treasury implements with funding from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
According to the EACC, officials paid the money to 23 private entities, including 15 business names and eight companies, for goods and services that the commission alleges were never supplied or provided. The anti-graft agency also said programme officials used false and forged documents to account for the funds and opened an unauthorised bank account in the name of the PROFIT Programme.
The EACC added that Ksh175 million was deposited into the unauthorized account and then laundered and embezzled, with a large portion of the funds allegedly withdrawn in cash.
“Investigators also established financial links between programme officials and some of the private entities that received the funds,” the commission said. It noted that the transactions appeared to breach public financial management and accountability requirements.
The EACC said the PROFIT Programme was designed to help small-scale farmers access affordable financing and that it ran between the 2013/2014 and 2023/2024 financial years. After finishing its investigations, the commission forwarded the case file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who approved prosecution of 20 public officials, companies, and company directors.
The suspects face charges including unlawful acquisition of public property, abuse of office, money laundering, acquisition of proceeds of crime, and uttering false documents, among other offenses.
They are expected to appear before the Milimani Law Courts on Wednesday, August 19.
Meanwhile, the anti-graft agency has directed 11 more suspects, including the programme accountant as well as several business owners and company directors, to report immediately to the EACC’s Integrity Centre in Nairobi or to the nearest EACC office for processing.
In the meantime, the EACC said it will pursue the recovery and forfeiture of public funds and assets it says were acquired through corrupt conduct or other unlawful means as part of efforts to hold those responsible for the alleged losses to account.
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