Witness links Kamani firm to Anglo-Leasing
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) was yesterday given time to put its house in order with regards to the 146 documents, it plans to present over the long drawn Anglo-Leasing case.
Trial Magistrate Felix Kombo gave the prosecutor Mary Gateru, until this morning to sort out all the disputed documents regarding the alleged Sh3.5 billion in the Anglo-Leasing contract, popularly known as modernisation of police security equipment and accessories.
This is after Gateru told court that the investigating officer, together with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detective Ignatius Wekesa, intend to produce 146 documents to back their evidence in the matter.
The documents are from the Office of the President, Treasury, Attorney General and the Mutual Legal Assistance files supplied to the former Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission by the British government.
Conspiracy to defraud
Yesterday in his evidence, Wekesa took the court through several documents that he received from the Office of the President, Treasury and Immigration department regarding former senior government officials namely: The late former Finance Minister David Mwiraria, Permanent Secretaries Joseph Magari, Dave Mwangi and David Onyonka and three businessmen Chamanlal Kamani, Deepak Kamani, Rashmi Kamani, who are all facing charges of conspiracy to defraud the government.
The government entered into a contract with the directors of Sound Day Corporation company; incorporated in the British Virgin Islands to supply police security equipment.
In his testimony, Wekesa informed the court that during their investigations, it was established that the directors of Sound co-operation firm were the Kamani’s.
The witness told the court that during their investigations, the company was neither registered or incorporated in Kenya nor did it have a local representative firm in the country.
Sound Day and Apex Finance Corporation are some of the companies that have been linked to the scam.
Earlier, Wekesa had told the court that Sound Day and Apex Finance were ghost companies. Apex Finance Corporation was a financier of the project.
Through a certificate of incorporation, the court heard that the company that was allegedly involved in the contract was incorporated on September 21, 1989 in the British Virgin Islands and that the Kamani’s were the directors of the firm having taken it over from one Collins Foster in 1990.
“Your honour we will be demonstrating to this court that companies are incorporated in British Virgin Islands to get exemptions from financial statements concealing key information and to avoid knowledge on type of business and funds,”said Wekesa.
The officer further told the court that Hallmark International, Acme Sales and Services and Kamsons are associated with the Kamanis’ and were trading as Sound Day Corporation.
Supplier agreement
“None of the government officials directly or indirectly knew Sound Day Corporation and its directors.
I never got any tangible information also about the managing director of Brian Mills; who signed documents and the contract on behalf of Sound Day Corporation,” Wekesa told the court.
He said there is no loan agreement between the contracted company and the user department ministry (Provision Administration) and there is only the supplier agreement that exists.
Further the court heard that at the time the contract was being executed on December 7, 2003, the value of the contract was Euros 40 million but the value of goods was not given. The hearing continues today.
