Court freezes Kenya accounts of German woman in fraud case

The High Court has frozen two bank accounts linked to a German, which have about Sh17 million suspected to be proceeds of crime.

The accounts at the Diani branch of Barclays Bank belong to Kornelia Kerstin Schaller, and the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) says the money held there could be proceeds of crime.

Justice John Onyiego heard that the Federal Republic of Germany wrote to Kenya, seeking mutual legal assistance (MLA) in respect of certain funds that got lost while in custody of Ms Kornelia and her husband, Andreas Schaller.

In the letter, Germany police believed that the funds were transferred to the two accounts and another at Imperial Bank of Kenya. The ARA told the court that the funds should be frozen, pending an application for forfeiture. Justice Onyiego allowed the request and froze the accounts for 90 days.

The criminal case before a court in Munich has been going on since 2016 but Ms Schaller said she had been discharged by the Germany government in regard to the reported criminal activity, which was allegedly committed by her husband.

Tobias Abondo, an investigator based at the Banking Fraud Investigations Unit, told the court that the two accounts in Diani held Sh6,430,662.90 and Sh10,668,357.

They were in her name. The request for MLA was made through a letter dated February 27, 2014.

Mr Schaller, an accountant, is accused of commercial breach of trust and abetting breach of trust in accordance with the German criminal code.

It is alleged that the German police undertook investigations and discovered that approximately 250,000 Euros had been transferred to banks in Kenya

“In the decision dated August 1, 2013 by the Munich local court that issued the freezing order, it is apparent the respondent’s (Kornelia’s) husband worked as a freelance accountant for Go! Express & Logistics Munich GmbH where he managed the cash in hand, granted advance, made bank transfers, booking and checking of statements,” the documents filed in court say.

It is alleged that Mr Schaller drew up fictitious invoices from suppliers and couriers.