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Trader's signature forged to win Sh6.9bn tender, court told

EACC official interviewed trader at the US after state requested legal assistance.

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by ALPHONCE MUNGAHU

Coast09 July 2019 - 13:56
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In Summary


• Company, three PSs and three businessmen have denied plotting to defraud the government. Contract single-sourced.

• Foreign trader was showed documents with his signature but he called it a forgery, denied being a director at the company. 

Magistrate's gavel

Infotalent International Company forged businessman Bradley Birkenfeld's signatures leading to a series of multimillion shilling scandals, a court has heard.

This emerged on Tuesday at the Anti-Corruption Court that heard Birkenfeld had never been the company’s director when it was awarded a contract to supply police security equipment E-Cops. They amounted to amounting to €59,688,250 (Sh6.9 billion). 

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission deputy director Julius Muraya told trial magistrate Martha Mutuku that he and his colleague interviewed Birkenfeld who had been described as a director of Infotalent Ltd. 

He was testifying in a case involving three PSs — Joseph Magari, Dave Mwangi and David Onyonka —businessmen Deepak and Rashmi Kamani and their father Rasmi Chamanlal.

They have denied conspiring to defraud the government. 

Witness Muraya, who is also the head of the Mutual Legal Unit, testified that they interviewed Birkenfeld. He said they showed him a proposal by Infotalent systems contained in a letter dated August 22, 2003, purportedly written and signed by him.

Birkenfeld denied the signature, saying it was a forgery, Muraya said. Birkenfeld also denied talking to or corresponding with any Kenyan government officials over the Infotalent contract. 

The witness and one John Kiilu had travelled to Miami, Florida, where they interviewed Birkenfeld on June 11, 2015, in his lawyer's office. 

Murray said this was after the Attorney General made a request to the US government for mutual legal assistance. 

The request related to investigations into a contract for the procurement of a law and order system for the Kenya police known as Project E-Cops. It was single-sourced to Infotalent Ltd at Sh6.9 billion and purportedly signed by Birkenfeld in his capacity as a director.

He said through the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Birkenfeld indicated that he was willing to be interviewed but in the presence of his advocate Gerald Greenberg at Miami.

The court heard that one Mario Garcia Tariche, a Special Agent with the FBI, oversaw the interview.

More than 100 witnesses have already testified and two, among them an investigating officer, will testify on September 2 when the case resumes.

Earlier, former PS John Githongo, who has already testified, told a court that Sh6.8 billion paid to one of the Anglo Leasing-type companies was never recovered.

He told the trial magistrate that a foreign company known as Infotalent Limited refunded commitment fee and additional money amounting to Sh5.9 billion, which had been paid by the government for police Project E-Cops security contract in the 2003-04 financial year.

“I made efforts to have the money refunded between May and August 2004 after l persuaded all the government officials who knew the directors of the said company,” Githongo said.

Edited by R.Wamochie 

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