Assets Recovery Agency went after 21-year-old student Felesta Nyamathira Njoroge after a sum of Ksh102,654,024 was discovered in her Co-operative bank account.
Felesta, who is a student at Nairobi Technical Training Institute, left detectives puzzled after the huge sum of money was discovered in her bank account.
The mystery of the large sum led detectives on Felesta’s tracks. It was established that she is the sole signatory and beneficial owner of the Co-operative bank account in question.
The large sum was deposited in 4 transactions, in a span of just 3 days (August 4th to August 6th, 2021). The bank account was brand new, having just been opened just days before the huge transactions.
On August 4th, a sum of Ksh25,803,756 was deposited in Felesta’s Co-operative bank account. On August 5th, Ksh26,028,156 and Ksh25,242,756 were deposited in two separate transactions. On August 6th, a further Ksh25,579,356 was deposited.
Assets Recovery Agency summoned Felesta on October 18th to explain the suspicious transactions, but she failed to show up.
The 21-year-old sent her lawyers who said that the summons were vague, and asked detectives to furnish them with proper particulars of the alleged offence she had committed.
Two days later, Felesta’s defense informed Assets Recovery Agency that their client had traveled out of the country.
“We would like to inform you that our client, Felesta, is currently not in Kenya and in fact left the country on October 2nd, 2021. We do not have information on when our client will be coming back to Kenya,” the letter from Felesta’s defense read.
Detectives suspect that Felesta may be part of a money laundering syndicate involving foreigners.
Assets Recovery Agency has now petitioned court to grant them orders to freeze Felesta’s Co-operative bank account which has Ksh102 million.
“There are reasonable grounds to suspect the funds held in account number 02100705531800 held at Co-operative Bank in the name of the respondent, are illicit funds in which the respondent is involved in a money laundering scheme, designed to conceal and disguise the nature, source location and movement of the funds,” their affidavit reads.
It continues…
“Unless this honourable court grants the orders sought, the economic advantage derived from the commission of crimes will continue to benefit a few at the disadvantage of the general public interest,” says the affidavit sworn by investigating officer Fredrick Musyoki.
In her defense, Felesta expained that the millions in her bank account was deposited by her millionaire Belgian boyfriend De Mesel Marc.
“Preliminary investigations have established the respondent opened the suspect account for the sole purpose of receiving the said funds which she declared the source to be from “my boyfriend” and the purpose as investing in land projects and safaris,” the affidavit by the assets agency reads.
De Marc has since signed an affidavit, admitting that he sent the money which Felesta was to use as she wishes.
“That I hereby admit that the donee will be full and absolute legal owner of the gifted money and even though I hope that she builds financial security for herself and our future children, she will be free to use the said gifted amount as per her own will,” De Marc’s affidavit reads.
The Belgian is said to be a bitcoin multimillionaire who has no problem transferring a few coins to his girlfriend’s bank account.
Related: MP Rigathi Gachagua Risks Losing 200M Over Money Laundering Claims
