By The Weekly Vision Team
A retired investigator with the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), Mr. Muasya Musyoki, was last week put to task to explain in court the crime of money laundering in a Ksh. 50 million case pitting businessman Anthony Odiero against ARA.
Muasya Musyoki was being cross-examined before Justice Patrick Otieno in a case where the businessman has denied acquiring high-end vehicles and Ksh. 50 million through criminal activities. The retired investigator with the agency was being cross-examined by lawyer Ndegwa Njiru, who is representing Odiero, the complainant in the suit.
Musyoki said he commenced investigations into the allegations, and based on the information he received, he concluded that it was money laundering. When asked whether his investigations revealed any aspects of money laundering, he answered in the negative.
“The money was believed to have been acquired from proceeds of crime, and we filed an application of forfeiture,” he told the court. The investigator further revealed that even though they suspected Odiero of money laundering, there was nothing to show where the money could have come from. “I established that the respondent walked into the National Bank and deposited the money in his personal account, and the offence is the act of depositing the money whose source is not known and splitting it into small bits so that it does not pass the limit of the CBK,” he added.
In the case, ARA contends that a Range Rover, a Mercedes Benz, and Ksh. 52 million found in Odiero’s account are proceeds of crime and ought to be forfeited to the state. It adds that between 2020 and 2023, there were “massive and suspicious cash deposits, withdrawals, and transfers,” pointing at the crime of money laundering.
The businessman has denied the claims, saying that the funds in his accounts are from legitimate businesses and known sources, including cash payments for consultancies, brokerage fees, and the sale of cut flowers. The hearing continues in September.
