The High Court has issued injunction orders freezing assets worth Sh1,206,851,274 belonging to a senior officer at the Ministry of Lands.
This followed a recovery suit filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on June 15, 2022, and an injunction application thereafter.
The court also ordered the defendant to deliver vehicles registered to his wife and their logbooks to the EACC within seven days.
Failure to deliver, the anti-graft body will be required to seize and detain the vehicles until the case is determined.
In the matter, the Commission has sued Nicholas Owino, his wife Violet Terry Muthoni, his brother Richard Omondi, and two companies linked to them; Ternic Valuers Limited and Ternic Enterprises Limited.
It sought to have the Court compel the defendant to forfeit the aforementioned amount to the government, as it is believed to be proceeds of corruption.
Among the properties liable to the order are 17 plots of land, three plots of land and two buildings and a plot of land.
The land is purported to be worth Sh694,670,000, vehicles amount to Sh10,500,000 and bank and Mpesa accounts hold Sh497,393,274.11.
EACC filed the suit after investigations following a report that the official has amassed unexplained wealth during his time as a public officer from January 2003 to November 2018.
It established that during the said period of interest, he signed contracts with private entities for services he was mandated and paid to undertake.
"He is reasonably suspected of corrupt conduct by using privileged official information at the Ministry for financial gain through companies associated with him, thus compromising his public or official duties in favour of his personal interests," EACC said.
EACC also claimed that he used his co-accused to hide the money acquired.
On Monday, October 24, the court heard that the defendants have never filed any response to both the main recovery suit and the injunction application.
The defence lawyers affirmed that they had not sent the responses and were granted 21 days to comply.
The matter is set to be mentioned on November 11, 2022.
