Tycoon In Shs2.7b Passport Swindle Is Brought To Kenya The People Daily 10 May 2004 Page: 24
An Asian tycoon at the centre of the controversial Shs 2.7 billion passport contract was arrested in Britain and brought to Kenya yesterday, The People Daily has reliably learnt.
The tycoon was brought into the country by three detectives from the International Police (Interpol) aboard a British Airways flight yesterday morning for questioning over the deal.
Impeccable sources informed us that the businessman had taken off to the UK after Ntonyiri member of parliament Maoka Maore exposed the scandal in Parliament. The shrewd businessman and a shadowy son to a former Cabinet Minister were the brains behind the scam which raised eyebrows within the diplomatic circles.
The former ministers son who is also a business associate to a sitting Cabinet Minister was spotted at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) yesterday morning to ostensibly receive his ally.
An influential diplomatic mission in Nairobi reportedly blew the whistle on the scam and warned the Kenyan Government against awarding the tender, awarded on a single sourcing basis.
Apart from transacting big time business with the Government, the tycoon is a proprietor of a lavish five star, hotel at the South Coast, and several others in New Delhi, London and Amsterdam.
According to our sources, the business mogul was nabbed by Interpol after the Kenyan government sought its assistance through Ethics and Governance Permanent Secretary John Githongo.