The man who signed out millions of dollars from a mysterious account at the collapsed Exchange Bank which was siphoned to overseas accounts can now he revealed. Mr Peter Mukandda, a former assistant manager at the collapsed bank, signed off the money in his capacity as a bank official between 1992 and 1993. It was the first time that an identified person was linked to the operations of the account, which has been described as mysterious by previous witnesses.
Account opening documents before the commission have named the account holder simply as Shimba Kay and the sole signatory has simply signed Shimba Kay. The address is given as that of Exchange Bank. Under intense questioning by lawyer Cecil Miller for the Deposit Protection Fund, Mr Mukandda told the commission that he knew the yet to be identified Shimba Kay only as Kaka. The witness, who admitted that Exchange Bank carried on with business most unusually, could not give any other details about the mysterious Mr Kaka. Mr Mukandda. the 83rd witness to testify before the commission, signed the vouchers made by Exchange Bank to the Central Bank, authorizing the transfer of the funds.
Forensic auditor Melville Smith, who reconstructed the accounts of the col-lapsed bank, told the commission last September 9 that it would take a former employee of the bank to identify Shimba Kay. Mr Smith testified as she commission’s 20th witness. And in another twist synonymous with Goldenberg sister companies, dollars and stolen travelers cheques offers by Shimba Kay were rejected by a London bank when it was discovered that they were all fake, earlier evidence shows. And if the money had been accepted by Citibank’s London branch, it would have returned to Kenya in a roundabout way and earned Goldenberg International export compensation.
The Sterling Pounds valued at more than Sh9.5 million at today’s exchange rate were moved from Exchange Bank through Shimba Kay and another Goldenberg associate company, Seville Investments. Mr Smith told the commission as he laid bare the facts at the commission last year; “At no time can genuine cash be rejected, The travelers cheques are believed to have been stolen and then sold in the black market. And obviously, when they breached the recipient bank in the UK, they were rejected.” Other documents presented by Mr Smith to the commission, show that the Shimba Kay account shipped off an equivalent of Sh500 million just before and after the 1992 general elections: And Mr Mukandda, 45, was yesterday warned that he could be charged with perjury — lying under oath — if he continued withholding information from the commission.
