The 110-page report by the international risk consultancy Kroll alleges that relatives and associates of Mr Moi siphoned off perhaps as much as £2 billion ($5 billion) of government money. If true, it would put the Mois on a par with Africa’s other great kleptocrats, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) and Nigeria’s Sani Abacha.
The assets included multimillion-pound properties in London, New York and South Africa, as well as a 10,000-hectare property in Australia and bank accounts containing hundreds of millions of pounds.
The report, commissioned by the Kenyan Government, was submitted in 2004, but never acted upon. Kroll would not confirm or deny the report’s authenticity on Thursday.
The Kroll investigation into the former regime was commissioned by President Mwai Kibaki shortly after he came to power on an anti-corruption platform in 2003. It was meant to be the first step towards recovering some of the money stolen during Mr Moi’s 24-year rule, which earned Kenya the reputation as one of the world’s most corrupt countries.
But soon after the investigation was launched Mr Kibaki’s government was caught up in its own scandal, known as Anglo Leasing, which involved awarding huge government contracts to bogus companies. Since then, none of Mr Moi’s relatives or close allies has been prosecuted, and no money has been recovered. Three of the four ministers that resigned after the Anglo Leasing scandal was exposed have since been reinstated