The High Court has allowed a State agency to seize luxury vehicles and properties linked to a businesswoman accused of defrauding hundreds of youths through a fake Qatar jobs scheme.
The two high-end vehicles, an apartment in Athi River and a four-storey building in Eldoret town are linked to Judy Jepchirchir, who is suspected of defrauding hundreds of youths of millions of shillings.
The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) stated in court documents that more than 1,000 youths were defrauded of over Sh200 million under the pretense of securing employment opportunities ahead of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar and other lucrative jobs abroad.
Justice Lucy Njuguna directed the businesswoman to surrender the logbooks of the two vehicles to ARA, failure to which the agency would seize them. The judge ordered her to surrender the logbooks within 14 days of the ruling.
Justice Lucy Njuguna.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
“In the event she fails to surrender them, the agency is at liberty to seize, detain, and take custody of the said motor vehicles,” said the judge.
The court also prohibited Ms Jepchirchir from selling, transferring or disposing of the Eldoret and Athi River buildings.
Additionally, the court directed the Director General of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to register a caveat against each of the vehicles.
The Assets Recovery Agency said that it was investigating Ms Jepchirchir and her companies on suspicion of obtaining money by false pretenses and money laundering. The agency said that and is working to trace the proceeds of the alleged crimes.
First Choice Recruitment and Consultancy Agency founder and director Judy Jepchirchir.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
Ms Jepchirchir’s company—First Choice Recruitment and Consultancy Ltd—was allegedly used to solicit funds from young Kenyans under the false promise of World Cup jobs.
The ARA said that Ms Jepchirchir and her company operated 14 bank accounts. One account was opened at Diamond Trust Bank on January 20, 2020 in which Sh193.5 million was transacted between January and May 17, 2023.
Ms Jepchirchir is suspected to have used the money from the account to buy one of the vehicles and to pay Sh1.9 million to Erdermann Property Ltd in May 2022 for the Athi River apartment.
Another account at NCBA, where Ms Jepchirchir is a signatory, reportedly saw transactions amounting to Sh16.5 million. From this account, she allegedly paid Sh5.9 million for the second car.
The suspect is also said to have bought two plots from a Mr Isaac Kipkemei Terer in July 2022 for Sh27.5 million, although she is yet to clear a balance of Sh10 million. Mr Terer has since registered a caution on the parcels, claiming interest.
Ms Jepchirchir allegedly bought the incomplete four-storey building in July 2022 and has since made improvements. The structure was about 80 per cent complete at the time it was bought. The ARA estimates the building’s rental income to be between Sh22,000 and Sh25,000 per unit, potentially generating Sh289,000 per month.
“The respondent incorporated First Choice Recruitment and Consultancy Agency as a special-purpose vehicle to fraudulently obtain money from the public under the guise of offering employment opportunities abroad,” the agency stated.
ARA added that the case has generated significant public interest and was discussed by the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare, which tabled a report on October 17, 2023. The Uasin Gishu County Assembly also released a report on the matter on September 24, 2023. The number of people defrauded is estimated at 1,022.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the respondent, who is a director of First Choice Recruitment and Consultancy Agency, is the ultimate beneficiary of the funds deposited in the special-purpose vehicle bank accounts, which served as conduits for money laundering,” said investigator Alfred Musalia.
