The ownership of vehicles linked to the construction of the scandal-hit Itare, Arror and Kimwarer dams took a new turn when a State agency emerged to claim rights to the high-end vehicles.
Rift Valley Water Services Board (RVWSB) Monday said 17 of the vehicles suspected to have been bought by funds meant for the construction of three dams belonged to it.
The board said through lawyer B.O. Akang’o it pushed to join a case Barclays Bank filed to freeze CMC di Ravenna's assets as it seeks to recover Sh585 million loans advanced to the contractor.
CMC di Ravenna is the Italian firm contracted to build the dams and has since filed for insolvency in Italy.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said 100 vehicles were bought for the dams projects and it has seized 45 of them with only 17 registered under CMC di Ravenna
The Board said it contracted the Italian firm to construct the dam in Kuresoi-Molo, in Nakuru County.
It agreed to buy the cars and register under the Italian firm with their ownership set to be later transferred to RVWSB, court documents show.
The Board said it was kept in the dark when the Italian firm used the vehicles to secure the loans with Barclays.
The DCI and Director of Public Prosecutions have also sought to join the case filed by Barclays Bank.
Most of the vehicles are yet to be traced and DCI has issued a search alert.
Detectives have discovered that most of the Sh20.5 billion released for the dams construction went towards paying insurance premiums. Kenya paid Sh11.6 billion in insurance premiums to secure lenders financing.
The government also paid Sh908 million to the Italian government as a commitment fee to ensure that the projects would be seen to the end, and that Kenya would repay the loans taken to finance the construction.
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