Former Cabinet Minister Nicholas Biwot and companies associated with him received millions of shillings of Goldenberg related money in 1993. it was revealed yesterday. It was the first time that Mr Biwott or his business interests have been directly associated with the multi-bil]ion shilling scandal now at the centre of the Goldenberg inquiry.
The former powerful Cabinet minister has already been served with a warning that he is likely to be mentioned in bad light but has yet to send a lawyer to rep-resent him. It emerged yesterday that the Keiyo South MP and his companies benefited from part of a questionable St1600 million loan extended by the Deposit Protection Fund (DPF) to Trade Bank, which was ailing at the time and which has since collapsed.
The companies listed in documents laid before the commission are, H Z Ltd, L. Z Engineering Ltd, Yaya Ltd, Greenwood Holdings Ltd and Ziba Management Ltd. The commission heard that Out of the total amount, Sh300 million went to Mr Biwott’s companies while the Kerio south MP is listed as having received Sh57 million personally. It is not clear what became of the other Sh300 million and Mr Miller was yesterday directed by the commission to provide documents to former Central Bank governor Eric Kotut that would enable him to offer an explanation when the inquiry enters its 156th day today. One of the companies had charged the showcase Yaya Centre, an imposing shopping complex in Nairobi’s Hurlingham Estate, as security for B loan from Trade Bank. Trade Bank had in turn charged Yaya Centre to the OFF as security for the Sh600 mill ion credit. The money was never paid,back and OFF has never been able to take control of Yaya Centre. And Mr Kotut, the commission’s 60th witness said the money should be recovered from the recipients.
Mr Kotut chaired the meeting of DPF directors which approved the credit on January 6,1992. The DPF is a wing of the Central Barth established to cushion small depositors in the event that a hank col-lapses. Mr Kotut, who was udder intense day-long cross-examination by DPF Lawyer Cecil Miller, told the inquiry that the decision to bail out Trade Bank was meant to stem a crisis in the Nuking industry. But surprisingly, rather than the ailing institution absorbing the funds, the money was advanced to the companies listed above, some of which were running huge loans with Trade Bank. It also emerged that a little-known businessman, Mr N. S. Srikanth, who was deeply involved in Goldenberg bank transactions was also a signatory of a HZ Company bank account at Exchange Bank.
Mr Srikanth, it emerged, wielded considerable influence at Exchange Bank as the foreign exchange manager and a signatory to Goldenberg ltiternationals main account at the bank. Other Goldenberg associated companies in which Mr Srikanth was a signatory were Durely House and International Trading Consortium. Previous evidence presented before the commission by forensic auditor Melville Smith shows that the accounts were used as part of the mind-boggling web of hank transactions. Mr Smith, who was the commission’s 20th witness, presented evidence relating to details of the billions. transacted by Goldenberg related companies at the collapsed Exchange Bank.
