- Bank filed an application at the Court of Appeal seeking to suspend the implementation of those orders, pending an intended appeal.
- The said section indicates that a forfeiture order shall not take effect before an appeal has been disposed of.
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A bid to suspend a court order requiring Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to forfeit Sh200 million to the state has flopped.
The Court of Appeal dismissed an application by a bank seeking to suspend the implementation of a High Court decision.
The monies, which were found to be proceeds of crime, are held in Gachagua's account with Rafiki Microfinance Bank.
Justice Esther Maina had in July this year held that no evidence was produced by the DP to prove that his source of wealth was from loans and government tenders.
She ordered him to forfeit the monies held at the bank for failing to show a valid source.
But the bank filed an application at the Court of Appeal seeking to suspend the implementation of those orders, pending an intended appeal.
They argued before justices Imaan Laibuta, Kathurima M'Inoti and Paul Gachoka that the money in question is a security that guaranteed several loan facilities.
The institution said the Asset Recovery Agency has been demanding the money and even threatened to institute contempt proceedings in case the amount was not settled immediately.
But the Court of Appeal dismissed the bank's application saying it was made in disregard of Section 92 (6) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-money Laundering Act.
The section allows for an automatic stay meaning before an appeal is concluded, the Assets Recovery Agency cannot seize the funds in question.
The said section indicates that a forfeiture order shall not take effect before an appeal has been disposed of.
"In view of the foregoing, we reach the inescapable conclusion that the applicant’s motion is unwarranted, having been made in disregard of section 92(6) of the Act which, in our view, provides statutory safeguards pending appeal,"the judges said.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)