MPs summon Equity Bank boss over Ruto ally UGX 15b loan
Mr Ruto claimed he had called Equity Bank to help Mr Aydin obtain a large loan to build a vaccine production factory in Uganda.
MPs have called Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi to answer questions over accusations that the bank provided a Sh15 billion loan to Turkish Harun Aydin, a close associate of Deputy President William Samoei Ruto who has since been deported to Istanbul.
Mr Mwangi is scheduled to testify before the National Assembly Committee on Finance and Planning on Wednesday to answer seven questions on charges made by Deputy President William Ruto.
Mr Ruto claimed he had called Equity Bank to help Mr Aydin obtain a large loan to build a vaccine production factory in Uganda. The incident began when Mr Ruto, along with Mr Aydin and other close allies, were denied boarding on an aircraft from Nairobi’s Wilson airport to Entebbe.
Officials allegedly requested the Deputy President to show documentation from the President’s Office that he had authorization to travel outside the nation. Mr. Aydin was deported from Kenya after returning from Uganda a few days later. The Turkish individual was then identified as a suspect in terrorism funding and money laundering by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i, who later informed a parliamentary committee.
Mr Mwangi is due to respond to a number of questions in a letter from the committee dated August 16 seen by this media, including whether the bank met all legal and regulatory obligations in processing Mr Aydin’s transaction.
The letter to Mr Mwangi says, “The objective of this letter is to invite you to a meeting with the committee planned for August 25 in the mini-chamber.”
The committee, which is led by Gladys Wanga of Homa Bay Woman, also wants to know if the bank conducted a full know-your-customer (KYC) check as required by the Central Bank of Kenya prudential standards before issuing the credit facility to the said businessman.
The CEO of Equity Bank is also scheduled to testify before legislators on whether the bank followed section 43 of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, which requires banks to take reasonable steps to verify Mr Aydin’s real identity at the time he sought to do business with them.
The committee also wants to know if Mr Aydin has any accounts with Equity Bank and what the security used to guarantee the Sh15 billion credit is worth.
Mr Mwangi is also asked to clarify whether the bank confirmed Mr Aydini’s planned use of the money.
Last Monday, the Interior Cabinet Secretary told the National Security Committee that the government deported Mr. Aydin on suspicion of money laundering and at the request of Istanbul authorities.
Mr Aydin’s activities in the region had also been flagged by intelligence officers of a neighboring country after they noticed that he had been moving around or communicating with members of a regional money laundering network, according to Dr Matiang’i, who was invited by the committee to explain the circumstances that led to the Turkish’s deportation.
Mr Aydin, who was a passenger on Dr Ruto’s ill-fated journey to Uganda, was apprehended by officials from the Anti-Terror Police Unit at Wilson Airport on August 7 as he arrived from Entebbe (ATPU).
He was subsequently kept for two nights incommunicado before being taken aboard a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.