Business Daily (Nairobi)
Albert Muriuki
23 April 2008
The Central Bank yesterday said it has not received any money from Grand Regency Hotel receivers for the last nine years, sparking fears as to the whereabouts of billions of shillings.
In a new twist to the transfer saga, the CBK Governor, Prof Njuguna Ndung'u, revealed that the bank got its last payments in 1999 amounting to Sh460 million, when Mr Joseph Kittony was the receiver.
"Since 1999 when the bank's appointed receiver manager, Mr Joseph Kittony, was removed by the High Court, the bank has not received a single penny from the hotel," said Prof Ndungu.
The CBK got involved in Grand Regency in 1993 when it created a legal charge for Sh2.5 billion in an attempt to secure funds that had been illegally siphoned through Exchange Bank, one of businessman Kamlesh Pattni's banks, during the Goldenberg saga.
Grand Regency has returned to the news after Mr Pattni abandoned his ownership and handed it to CBK, which had been locked out of the hotel's management through a series of court orders.
While the recovery of the facility may be a victory for the Aaron Ringera-led Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC), being its largest asset recovery yet, it is going to open a Pandora's box as the receiver managers come under public scrutiny.
In 2004, KACC and Uhuru Highway Developments Limited, by a consent court order, appointed Peter Ndaa and H.W. Gichohi as the joint receiver managers for the hotel without consulting the CBK who were the property chargees.
According to Prof Ndungu, since their appointment, the two joint receiver managers spent most of their time fighting each other instead of professionally managing the hotel.
The Business Daily could not get the receiver managers as they were said to be out of the office.
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