The National Land Commission is likely to pay double for land it bought for the construction of the standard gauge railway.
The commission had paid Sh40 million to Tornado Carriers Limited instead of remitting the payment to Imperial Bank.
Before selling the land to NLC, Tornado Carriers Limited had used the same parcel of land referenced MN/VI/3810 as collateral for a loan from the bank.
Sources told the Star the firm had illegally removed the charge from the title deeds. The money should have gone to Imperial Bank.
However, Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation CEO Mohamud Mohamud told the Star on Tuesday that Imperial Bank never received the money.
“We never got that money and we have the original title deed,” Mohamud said.
He said they will have to claim the money from NLC. That means the commission will have to pay twice for the same land.
Mohamud said the outstanding loan amount yet to be paid is Sh400 million.
KDIC is the current receiver manager for Imperial Bank which is in the process of being acquired by the Kenya Commercial Bank Group.
Former NLC chairman Mohammed Swazuri was arrested by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission in August last year over the first purchase of the land in Mombasa.
“The case is still ongoing in court and Swazuri has already been charged,” an official from EACC told the Star.
The land was valued at Sh32.5 million in 2015. However, the commission ended up paying Sh109.76 million, which is more than three times the original price.
