EACC clears Treasury officials in Eurobond probe, recommends file closure
Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
The Director of Public Prosecutions said that the investigation report handed to him by the EACC has recommended the closure of the file.
EACC undertook investigations into allegations by opposition leader Raila Odinga that the government could not account for Sh10 billion of the Eurobond proceeds.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has cleared Treasury officials of allegations that they embezzled part of the Sh250 billion Eurobond cash citing lack of evidence.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said in a statement Friday that the investigation report handed to him by the EACC has recommended the closure of the file.
In late 2015, the EACC undertook investigations into allegations by opposition leader Raila Odinga that the government could not account for Sh10 billion of the Eurobond proceeds.
“In the file, EACC has found no evidence of criminal culpability on the part of any government official and therefore recommended that the file be closed,” Mr Tobiko said.
However, the EACC has further recommended that the Auditor-General carry out a special audit on the development projects that were implemented by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) that received the cash.
But this could prove difficult since Treasury has already indicated that it cannot show any projects because the Eurobond proceeds were lumped together with other government revenue and disbursed to ministries, making it difficult to pinpoint specific projects.
“The ministries cannot differentiate whether the money they have received from the Exchequer came from VAT, income taxes, customs duties, excise taxes, domestic borrowing or the Eurobond,” Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich said in an earlier interview with the Business Daily.
The Eurobond proceeds were spent in the fiscal years 2013/14 and 2014/15.
Mr Tobiko has said that he will review the EACC file before making a decision.
It is expected that the Auditor-General annual report for the year ending June 2015 which was due on December 31, will shed more light into the Eurobond borrowings which caused considerable political last year.
