The High Court has frozen bank accounts of three entities belonging to a Nairobi businessman suspected to have been used to embezzle funds from the National Youth Service.
The accounts held in the names of Active Electronics Africa Limited, First Supplies and Ameritrade Limited belong to James Thuita Nderitu.
Nderitu is among suspects who were charged with the theft of funds from the NYS. He is accused of fraudulently receiving millions of shillings for goods not supplied. The case is still ongoing.
Justice James Wakiaga yesterday preserved Sh7.3 million held at Equity Bank and Standard Chartered Bank under the names of the three companies.
The judge further directed that the preserved funds be deposited in the Assets Recovery Agency account held at Kenya Commercial Bank Limited, KICC branch.
The orders were granted after ARA told the court that they received a letter from Standard Chartered Bank indicating that it was terminating all account relationships with the three business entities by June 30.
The agency said from the investigations, the source of the funds was illegal.
“Investigations have revealed that the cash deposits were unlawfully acquired hence proceeds of crime,” it said.
The bank also argued that their investigations established that major deposits were made from the coffers of NYS and subsequently withdrawn by agents of the three companies in cash while several internal transfers were conducted between the accounts of the companies.
In April last year, the anti-corruption court ordered Nderitu to forfeit Sh35 million to the state after he failed to show what he supplied to the NYS for the money he received.
Nderitu is said to have received the monies from NYS between March and October 2017 for goods and services that he did not deliver, yet the money flowed into his 10 bank accounts.
Edited by Henry Makori
