FTI employee to be used as key witness in Imperial Bank fraud case

The Central Bank of Kenya will introduce a key witness from forensic firm FTI Consulting in the prosecution of Imperial Bank directors and shareholders.

Lawyer Philip Murgor, whose firm Murgor and Murgor is representing the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), said the expert witness will present key findings that link the top brass at the collapsed bank to a Sh45 billion fraud.

The American advisory firm has been carrying out extensive investigations on the decade long fraud at the bank for the past 12 months but is yet to make the findings public.

This saw Imperial Bank directors accuse the KDIC and Central Bank Kenya of witch-hunting by attempting to freeze their assets and recover the Sh45 billion from them.

Imperial Bank was placed under receivership in October 2015 when it was initially thought that Sh38 billion had been lost from the bank.

The forensic audit, according to court filings, indicates that the bank’s directors and shareholders had a role to play in the loss of customer funds, a position they have vehemently denied.

“That whilst IBL (IR) and KDIC as the 1st and 2nd plaintiffs in the case have repeatedly referred to the detailed forensic audit investigations conducted by FTI consulting they have not specifically quoted from any report. The plaintiffs have however indicated that a partner of FTI Consulting will testify as an expert and produce evidence in the hearing of the case as necessary,” Mr Murgor said in a statement.

Former Imperial Bank managing director Abdulamek Janmohammed is seen as the grand architect of what is shaping up as one of the country’s largest corporate fraud cases.

KDIC is seeking to to freeze assets of 44 companies associated with Imperial Bank directors and shareholders as part of plans to recover stolen funds.

Fish firm W.E Tilley, one of the largest beneficiaries of the stolen funds, has also been listed as one of the firms the receiver manager wants its assets frozen.

The Central Bank recently extended Imperial Bank’s receivership period by a further six months on request from KDIC.

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CBK imperial bank KDIC Forensic audit fraud case Philip Murgor FTI Consulting Abdulamek Janmohamed expert witness recover stolen funds W.E Tilley

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