The High Court has granted nod to freeze bank accounts linked to the estranged wife of the National Youth Service (NYS) scam architect James Thuita Nderitu.
The court allowed Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) to impose transactions embargo on account belonging to Yvonne Wanjiku Ngugi at DTB Bank holding Sh3.1 million.
She is the estranged wife of controversial businessman Thuita who has been charged with theft of public funds at the NYS through fictitious invoices for goods and stationery.
“A preservation order is hereby issued prohibiting the respondent, her agents or representatives from transacting, withdrawing, transferring, using and/or dealing in any manner howsoever with the sum of Sh3, 101, 269.69 held in Account No. 022095002 at Diamond Trust Bank (DTB),” read a notice by the High Court in the Kenya Gazette.
The notice also warned that breach of the orders will lead to imprisonment of up to six months.
Thuita withdrew more than Sh1.5 billion received from the NYS before the government froze his ten bank accounts and those belonging to Yvonne.
Court filings show that Thuita and firms associated with him received Sh1.61 billion from the NYS in the 11 months to November 2017.
The ARA is targeting four properties including residences in Thome, Garden Estate, and Runda in Nairobi.
An investigator said in an affidavit that the bank accounts, including those of Thuita’s firms — Flagstone Merchants, Excella Limited, Firstling, and Interscope — were used as conduits for money laundering.
Firstling directors are Yvonne and Thuita, who were once married but now say have separated.
Bank accounts of Ellwyn Supplies owned by Yvonne and Flagstone, in which she is a co-director with Thuita, were frozen because they received money from Thuita who claims the cash was for child support.
He had asked the court to divorce the mother of his children from the suit, noting that all decisions are attributable to him and that she does not participate in the running of the business since they are separated.
Thuita received Sh110 million directly to his private account from NYS and now has Sh3.1 million remaining.
In court, Thuita and Yvonne face charges of fraudulently receiving millions for goods not supplied.
For years, the NYS has been in the eye of the storm over tender irregularities where hundreds of millions of shillings were paid to contractors for supplying air.
The Auditor General has asked the NYS to strengthen its procurement to stop the haemorrhage.
Firstling Supplies Limited and Flagstone Merchants – the two firms are suspected to have away with more than Sh1 billion each in the NYS scandal with their operations remaining largely anonymous.
And, surprisingly, companies flagged by the Auditor-General and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in the past for possible fraud are still doing business with the government.
Among them is Fastlane Freight Forwarders, which had its accounts frozen by the High Court in the wake of “reasonable suspicion” that it had received Sh209 million from NYS as reimbursement for clearing and forwarding costs for equipment, even though there was no proof that the services had been rendered.
The court ruled that the ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs had not tendered for the provision of such services during the 2015-2016 financial year, and no contract between the ministry and (Fastlane) had been provided as a basis for the payment.
Investigations by The Informer revealed Fastlane is said to have been paid Sh221 million.
Firstling Supplies Limited, which received Sh1.48 billion, was also cited in a report by the Auditor-General in 2012, meaning it has been doing business with government bodies for years.
The directors of the company based at Ukulima Co-operative House are James Thuita Nderitu and Yvonne Wanjiku Ngugi.
The firm is also related to Bosqure Systems Limited, which was paid Sh59 million. The latter has been doing business with some county governments.
Our investigations revealed Excella Supplies Services Company Limited was paid Sh282125, 250, Era Two Thousands Limited Sh273,993,627, First Edge Limited (Sh261,103,425), Sakata Limited (Sh246, 125, 460) and Fastlane Freight Forwarders Limited (Sh220, 732, 633) among others.