DCI probes tycoon-owned firm, Swiss oil company over Ksh 4B emergency fuel deal
DCI probes tycoon-owned firm, Swiss oil company over Ksh 4B emergency fuel deal
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations confirmed late Saturday the arrest of former Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) Director General Daniel Kiptoo, former Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Managing Director Joe Sang, and former Petroleum Principal Secretary Mohamed Liban.
In a statement, the DCI’s Director of Corporate Communications, John Marete, confirmed the agency is investigating two private companies at the centre of a Ksh4 billion emergency cargo purchase outside the Government-to-Government oil supply framework with Gulf nations.
According to the DCI, one of the companies under investigation is a leading Kenyan oil marketing company and a critical infrastructure player in the East and Central African energy sector.
The company was registered in 2010 and is owned by a Kenyan-Indian tycoon of Indian origin and a fifth-generation Kenyan.
The company operates the region’s largest independent terminus at the Mombasa Port for heavy fuel oil and bulk bitumen.
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The other company at the centre of the scandal is a well-known Swiss-owned dealer in petroleum products that operates about 20 petrol stations in the country.
It remains unclear what role the two companies played in the Ksh4 billion deal, which has been described as irregular. However, both companies frequently operate as parallel power players in Kenya’s fuel import sector.
Investigators have recorded statements from witnesses and persons of interest, including senior government officials and executives of the tycoon-owned company, the DCI said. Executives of the second company have separately been summoned for statement recording, widening the corporate net around the scandal.
Kiptoo, Sang, Liban, and Petroleum Deputy Director Joseph Wafula were all arrested on Thursday on suspicion of manipulating in-country fuel stock data to trigger the emergency purchase.
Kiptoo, Sang, and Liban have since tendered their resignations. Head of Public Service Felix Koskei announced in an April 4 letter that President William Ruto had accepted the departures, saying the exits followed decisions by their respective boards. Wafula has not resigned and remains in police custody alongside Kiptoo and Sang. Liban was released on medical grounds.
The DCI moved quickly on Saturday to close any perception that resignation offers a path to impunity.
In its statement, the directorate stated explicitly that leaving office does not exonerate or absolve suspects from criminal culpability and urged all persons of interest to cooperate fully with investigators.
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