Judy Chepchirchir, managing director of First Choice Recruitment and Consultancy Agency in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, on March 12, 2023. Witnesses cried uncontrollably before a Senate committee hearing as they recalled how they lost millions of shillings they gave to First Choice Recruitment and Consultancy Agency for jobs in Qatar.
Fresh details have emerged on how key suspects in the Sh1 billion First Choice Recruitment Agency overseas jobs scam used the proceeds of crime to buy properties in Nairobi, Machakos and Eldoret.
Describing the fraud as involving an intricate web of prominent individuals using proxies, Assets Recovery Agency (ASA) revealed that preliminary investigations point to a complex money laundering scheme to conceal the ill-gotten economic gains from the scandal.
Appearing before the Senate Labour and Social Welfare committee on Thursday, ASA Director Ms Alice Mate said investigations have revealed that First Choice Recruitment Agency Director Ms Judy Jepchirchir and her accomplices have registered their criminal properties with proxies.
Ms Mate said four properties linked to one suspect spread across Nairobi, Eldoret and Machakos have been identified.
Further, efforts are ongoing to trace the properties of other suspects despite the fact that the majority are clothed under the guise of third parties.
She added caveat has been placed on the 21 motor vehicles registered under the names of key suspects subject to the investigations to establish whether they constitute the proceeds of the fraud.
“We are still investigating and we can't reveal the names of the persons who own these properties so that we don't jeopardise our investigations,” said Mr Timothy Nderitu, the deputy director ARA.
“We want to get a watertight report that can help us move to court to preserve these assets that we believe were bought as a result of proceeds from money laundering. Money laundering schemes are difficult to unravel,” he added.
According to Ms Mate, they have identified seven other key suspects in the overseas jobs scandal apart from the ones already in the public domain.
She added that the agency has already identified some of the third parties who they are currently profiling.
Ms Mate detailed how the key perpetrators opened more than 27 bank accounts to transact the huge sums of money obtained from desperate youth seeking jobs abroad.
She disclosed that money from the accounts was being moved from the bank accounts in batches of between Sh300,000 and Sh400,000 on diverse dates.
Zero balances
Interestingly, the Agency boss shocked senators when she disclosed that a majority of the 27 bank accounts have zero balances while the rest have negligible balances despite the accounts having transacted huge sums of money during the period under investigation.
Nonetheless, she said they are analysing the accounts to trace the money flow during the period under investigation.
“It is worth noting that the investigation points to a complex money laundering scheme to conceal the ill-gotten economic gains which may prompt considerable time to navigate the labyrinth web,” said Ms Mate.
The ASA boss narrated how the recruitment agency operated seven bank accounts in five different banks in the country.
Ms Mate revealed that between February 19, 2020 and May 11, 2023, the accounts received about Sh300 million with the majority of the money withdrawn in cash just below the reporting threshold, clearly depicting a money laundering scheme.
“We are currently undertaking financial analysis to ascertain how Sh300 million was moved from the bank accounts in batches,” the ASA director told the committee chaired by West Pokot Senator Julius Murgor.
Ms Mate told the senators that the assets as well as some 21 vehicles are hidden across the country and in the name of third parties, saying cracking the intricate web could take more time.
The ASA boss revealed that Ms Jepchirchir is associated with 11 companies where she is either a co-director or a bank account signatory.
Further, Ms Mate revealed that the establishment of their causal connection with the fraud is at advanced stages.
“Our preliminary investigations point to the fact that Judy Jepchirchir and her accomplices have registered their suspected criminal properties with proxies and so far, the Agency has identified some of the third parties who are currently being profiled,” Ms Mate said.
Last month, Directorate of Criminal Investigations recommended the charging of Ms Jepchirchir for obtaining money by false pretence, following the completion of their investigations into the scam.
She said a petition and report of the Uasin Gishu County Assembly have provided more leads to the agency, which is now zeroing in on the key suspects.
“We have identified seven other key suspects who have prominently featured in our investigations despite the fact that they were not mentioned in the Senate committee report,” she said.
The Agency said it has obtained a list of 1,200 victims who were defrauded and has managed to reach out to several of them who provided receipts issued to them after making their payments.
Unfortunately, she pointed out that a majority of the receipts do not bear the company’s letterhead or the official stamp.
Mr Nderitu told the committee the agency remains committed to working with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that justice is served and that the victims are compensated for their losses
He urged the victims and any person with information which may lead to recovery of the ill-gotten properties to volunteer such information to the Agency.
“We seek 90 days to conclude the investigations. We want to ensure that our investigations are full proof for us to move to court to preserve the assets,” he said.
Appearing before the same committee, Labour Cabinet Secretary Dr Alfred Mutua revealed that First Choice Recruitment Agency is among 25 recruitment agencies that have been deregistered or denied registration.
Dr Mutua said Ms Jepchirchir and Faith Gichuhi, the directors of First Choice, have also been barred from registering, operating or managing any other recruitment agency or company.
“The ministry has stopped the operations of First Choice recruitment agency with its registration certificate expiring on February 18, 2023,” said Dr Mutua.
The CS said there are 592 accredited employment agencies with valid National Employment Authority registration as of September 10, 2024, with the list updated on a daily basis.
