DPP, EACC hand over KSh2 billion of recovered corruption proceeds to Covid-19 emergency fund

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission have transferred KSh2 billion to the National Treasury to boost efforts against the Covid-19.

The money received by Cabinet Secretary Ukuru Yattani will go into the Covid-19 emergency fund as directed by President Uhuru Kenyatta during his address to the nation on Monday.

DPP Noordin Haji and EACC boss Twalib Mbarak, while issuing a dummy cheque to CS Yatani, said the funds are drawn from those recovered as proceeds of crime, namely corruption and money laundering.

The prosecution fund, established in 2019, now has a balance of KSh900 million, according to Hajji who revealed it had so far netted KSh2.9 billion.

“We have various institutions dealing with corruption. A lot more money is out there but because cases are not complete, we can’t use it. We have to wait for the cases to be complete,” averred Haji.

Twalib, on his part, said: “This money is a product of plea bargaining. There are some cases ongoing, we can’t use the money because of pending appeals. But we are confident we will recover this money.”

The EACC CEO added that the war on corruption is still ongoing, further expressing confidence that it will bear fruits and more public resources illegally held in terms of land and property will be recovered and reverted to the government.

Yatani commended the two state agencies for the move, urging others to follow suit and channel some funds to the Covid-19 emergency kitty.

He also revealed that the Treasury had received a pledge of KSh7 billion from the Sports fund as well as other individuals, organizations and State agencies.

“We are revising the budget and we won’t spare any item. We are suspending some projects to address the current situation and recovery of the income. We are cutting on some expenditure that we can push to the next financial year,” he said.

“I may not be able to give you the specifics on the budget for Covid-19 because it’s a moving target, but the figures are massive.

“Some of these proposals are outrageous, we may not be able to finance them. Even with the prevailing circumstances, we must run a fiscally sound economy.”