What would you do if suddenly Sh1.8 million from the National Youth Service landed in your bank account, and you did nothing to earn it?
If you're Emily Nyambura, you raise an alarm, urging the anti-corruption agency to preserve the money and being clear you have nothing to do with it.
Emily Nyambura informed the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission that she received Sh 1.8 million sent to her account by NYS between December 2019 and February 2020, though she didn’t provide any service or supplies.
However, when the money was sent it was entered as payment for the supply of bread.
Nyambura says she had applied for the tender to supply bread but was unsuccessful.
She first received the money on December 30, 2019, and she instructed her bank to reverse the payment on January 6.
However on February 20 she again received the Sh 1.8 million she had reversed — it was paid into her account NYS for the second time.
After investigating, the EACC discovered that the money sent to Nyambura was not supported by documents required of any tender.
Now the commission says it believes the money are public funds being embezzled by public officials at NYS through remittance to Nyambura’s account.
“It is therefore imperative that the commission preserves the said public funds, prohibiting the woman or her agents from withdrawing the money,” the EACC said.
The NYS was rocked with a major scam sometime in 2018 and the state charged several people with corruption.
At least 54 suspects in court facing charges relating to NYS scandal.
Only on Thursday, Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji announced his office made a deal with five banks involved in the NYS scam to deposit Sh385 million into the prosecution fund.
This means that prosecution of bank chiefs who had failed to report suspicious scam transactions, as required by law, will be dropped. They won't be charged.
The banks are Kenya Commercial Bank, Equity Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Diamond Trust Bank and Cooperative Bank.
(Edited by V. Graham)
