DPP, EACC hand over Ksh.2B of corruption proceeds to Covid-19 emergency fund

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Tuesday presented a donation of Ksh.2 billion to the National Treasury as part of efforts to beef up the Covid-19 emergency fund.

DPP Noordin Haji and EACC boss Twalib Mbarak, while issuing the dummy cheque to Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani, said the funds were part of recovered proceeds of crime such as corruption and money laundering.

DPP Haji said the prosecution fund established last year had so far netted Ksh.2.9 billion, from which the Ksh.2 billion presented to Treasury had been retrieved to aid in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

“We have various institutions dealing with corruption. A lot more money is out there but because cases are not complete, we can’t use it. We have to wait for the cases to be complete,” noted Haji.

Twalib, on his part, said: “This money is a product of plea bargaining. There are some cases ongoing, we can’t use the money because of pending appeals. But we are confident we will recover this money.”

The EACC CEO added that the war on corruption is still ongoing, further expressing confidence that it will bear fruits and more public resources illegally held in terms of land and property will be recovered and reverted to the government.

CS Yatani commended the two State agencies for the move, also urging others to follow suit and channel some funds to the Covid-19 emergency kitty.

He also revealed that the Treasury had received a pledge of Ksh.7 billion from the Sports fund as well as other individuals, organizations and State agencies.

“We are revising the budget and we won’t spare any item. We are suspending some projects to address the current situation and recovery of the income. We are cutting on some expenditure that we can push to the next financial year,” he said.

“I may not be able to give you the specifics on the budget for Covid-19 because it’s a moving target, but the figures are massive. Some of these proposals are outrageous, we may not be able to finance them. Even with the prevailing circumstances, we must run a fiscally sound economy.”