17 more banks handled NYS billions, MPs say

Rarieda MP Nicolas Gumbo, the chairman of the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee, on November 3, 2016. The committee has said 17 more banks have handled NYS money since 2013. FILE PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has expanded its investigations after it emerged that 17 more banks handled billions of shillings for National Youth Service (NYS) suppliers.

Members of the House team said they received information from the Devolution Ministry that the banks have handled the cash since 2013.

The PAC on Tuesday criticised the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, saying the information should have come from them.

"In the period under review, the money that left NYS was more than what you have heard in this room," PAC chairman Nicolas Gumbo said at a press conference at Parliament.

The PAC said it needs to question the companies and banks to establish if any impropriety was committed in their transactions.

“It is important to emphasis at this point that at the moment, because we have just received this information, while obvious impropriety is implied on the part of these banks at this stage, the same cannot be discounted for certain unless and until investigations are conducted to ascertain what business the companies did that received billions through the banks for the people of Kenya and whether value for money was realised,” said PAC Chairman Nicolas Gumbo.

The committee said the new revelations could lead to the discovery of an increase in the amount of money taken from NYS fraudulently as well as the number of individuals, businesses and institutions involved.

“We received this information yesterday (Monday) and we are still collating it. All we can say for sure is that it is running into several billions and off our fingertips, it is definitely more than the figures that you’ve heard in this room,” said Mr Gumbo.

The committee decided to ask the Devolution and Planning Ministry for a record of all money paid out of NYS since 2013 after fresh information submitted in the course of the inquiry saw the investigation take several unforeseen turns.

“In the period under review, the money that left the NYS into these companies is more. It is possible, yes, that more money was lost than we already know. We want to know who else apart from what is in the public domain did business with NYS in this period,” said Mr Gumbo.

The additional banks named Tuesday are: Equity, Diamond Trust Bank, Cooperative, Consolidated, First Community, Bank of Baroda, African Banking Corporation, I&M, Paramount, Chase, Bank of Africa, Transnational, Housing Finance, Giro, Gulf African, Commercial Bank of Africa, Ecobank, Fidelity and CFC Stanbic.

Banks that have already been named and submitted information to the committee are Standard Chartered, Sidian, Guaranty Trust Bank, Barclays, Kenya Commercial Bank, National Bank of Kenya, NIC, Jamii Bora, Old Mutual, Faulu, and Family Bank.