Embattled Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu closed property deals worth Ksh. 315 million within three months on the back of irregular dealings with collapsed Imperial Bank.
Justice Mwilu’s loan dealings with Imperial Bank and property deals that are linked to tax evasion are at the heart of petition in which the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is seeking the sacking of Kenya’s second senior-most judge.
She sold three parcels of land for Ksh. 315 million deal between March 2016 and July 2016, more than doubling her return from the plots bought months back for Ksh. 155 million with cash from Imperial Bank.
The DPP says Ms Mwilu failed to pay capital gains tax on the return and stamp duty of four per cent on value of the land she bought between December 2014 and March 2016 for Ksh. 160 million.
Part of the Ksh. 132 million in loans were granted interest free without applications from Ms Mwilu nor appraising her creditworthiness, others granted using letters with Judiciary letters head.
DPP say she also fraudulent recovered securities of the loans and sold them, leading to losses of Ksh. 60 million at the collapsed Imperial Bank.
“The respondent therefore used her judicial office to improperly enrich herself,” the DPP says.
The petition says Ms Mwilu bought two plots in Nairobi for Ksh. 80 million in December 2014 (reference numbers 3734/202 and 3734/209) and used them as security for a Ksh. 60 million long-term loan.
She took another short-term loan of Ksh. 60 million for purchase of half-acre property registered as 3734/1129 and successfully used it as substitution of the earlier loan security, leading to release of the two plots.
She was meant to sell the two plots and use proceeds to clear the Ksh. 65 million short term loan and half of the long term loan.
The DPP say the judge sold all the properties for Ksh. 315 million, and only cleared the Ksh. 65 million and failed to offer Imperial Bank property 3734/1129 as security.
“The respondent clearly had no intention of charging the said property to Imperial and thus obtained said securities by making false representations,” says the DPP.
