Tanzanian Association Oslo

The case against

EPA billionaires

UNLUCKY FEW WHO FAILED TO PAY BACK A TOTAL 

OF 21BN/- NOW SET TO FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES 

THE presidential task force that probed the external payment arrears (EPA) account scandal at the Bank of Tanzania yesterday transferred the results of its 10-month-long investigation to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Dar es Salaam for legal action. 

According to well-placed sources, the impression of the cases is clear cut -- there is a’mountain’ of evidence to file criminal charges against the so-called EPA billionaires. 

To demonstrate the urgency of the situation, the case files were handed over by the EPA task force led by Attorney General Johnson Mwanyika to the DPP’s office on Sunday, a day when most government offices are usually closed for the weekend. 

The DPP himself, Eliezer Feleshi, confirmed to THISDAY that his office had received the case files and would start reviewing the material in earnest effectively from today. 

Feleshi explained that state attorneys will now carefully study the elaborate investigation papers handed over by the EPA task force to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for prosecution before giving consent for the filing of criminal charges against the suspects. 

Sources involved in the EPA investigation told THISDAY: ’’There is plenty of evidence contained in the case files handed over to the DPP to charge the suspects on multiple criminal offences.’’ 

The DPP could not immediately confirm the exact number of case files transferred to his office by the EPA task force. 

’’We have received the case files only today ... we’ll start working on them tomorrow to establish the numbers and types of cases involved based on the evidence submitted to us,’’the government’s chief public prosecutor said in a phone interview yesterday. 

Feleshi declined to say exactly how long it would take state attorneys to review the case files. 

Asked if the DPP’s office would recall state attorneys to Dar es Salaam to speed up the review of the EPA case files, he remarked:’’We have enough manpower at our headquarters to handle this matter.’’ 

A statement issued yesterday by the AG’s spokesman confirmed that case files of all EPA suspects who failed to return the stolen funds by the October 31 deadline had been officially handed over to the DPP’s office. 

The statement did not specify the number of case files forwarded to prosecutors, but said a total of 69.3bn/- out of more than 90.3bn/- stolen by owners of 13 companies from the key BoT account using forged documents had been recovered. 

This means that yet unnamed businessmen who failed to pay back to the government a total of 21bn/- could soon face criminal charges. 

Insiders say prominent tycoons behind the EPA scandal, including well-connected businessman Jeetu Patel, and other hidden faces behind the now-infamous Kagoda Agriculture Limited company will not face any criminal charges. 

President Jakaya Kikwete had instructed Mwanyika’s team to immediately hand over to the DPP case files of all EPA beneficiaries who fail to return the stolen funds by Friday last week. 

The transfer of the case files to Feleshi’s office was expected to bring an end to the long-running EPA investigation and mark the beginning of much-awaited legal proceedings. 

However, the Mwanyika team has requested yet more time to President Kikwete to investigate nine other companies that were paid more than 42.65bn/- from the same EPA account during 2005/06 without proper supporting documents. 

In his national address late on Friday night, President Kikwete indicated that he was inclined to grant the request of the EPA task force for another time extension. 

A special audit carried out by Ernst & Young late last year established that more than 90bn/- out of the 133bn/- misappropriated from the EPA account during 2005/06 was siphoned out through outright fraud. 

Towards the end of last week, there was a big rush by some of the business tycoons implicated in the EPA scandal to return the stolen funds as they sought to avoid criminal charges. 

The companies that received the illegal EPA funds included Kagoda Agriculture Ltd, Bencon International Limited of Tanzania, VB & Associates Company Limited of Tanzania, Bina Resorts Limited of Tanzania and Venus Hotel Limited of Tanzania. 

Others were Njake Hotel & Tours Limited, Maltan Mining Company Limited of Tanzania, Money Planners & Consultants, Bora Hotels & Apartment Limited, B.V. Holdings Limited, Ndovu Soaps Limited, Navy Cut Tobacco (T) Limited of Tanzania and G&T International Limited. 

Also in the list were Excellent Services Limited, Mibale Farm, Liquidity Service Limited, Clayton Marketing Limited, M/S Rashtas (T) Ltd, Malegesi Law Chambers (Advocates), Kiloloma & Brothers, KARNEL Limited, and Changanyikeni Residential Complex Limited.