Reprieve for Mike Sonko as court orders release of Sh537 million frozen by Asset Recovery Agency
Justice Nixon Sifuna ordered the immediate release of the funds, finding that ARA had failed to demonstrate any link between the money and criminal activity.
The High Court has handed former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko a reprieve after dismissing an application by the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) seeking to forfeit Sh537 million frozen in his bank accounts over alleged money laundering.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, Justice Nixon Sifuna ordered the immediate release of the funds, finding that ARA had failed to demonstrate any link between the money and criminal activity.
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"The Asset Recovery Agency did not demonstrate with sufficient evidence that the funds in question were proceeds of crime or that Governor Sonko was engaged in money laundering," Justice Sifuna held, adding that suspicion alone could not justify depriving a citizen of private property.
The court further ruled that ARA's application to continue holding the money under preservation orders was unsubstantiated and lacked merit.
The decision frees Sonko's frozen millions in the case against ARA, which has in recent years pursued several high-profile corruption and money laundering cases targeting both public officials and private entities.
The Asset Recovery Agency moved to court in 2021 seeking to freeze Sh537 million held in several accounts linked to Sonko.
The agency argued that the funds were suspected proceeds of crime derived from alleged corruption and money laundering during his tenure in public office.
The High Court granted initial preservation orders, which allowed ARA to block withdrawals and transactions as it investigated the source of the money. The agency later sought forfeiture of the funds, claiming they were unlawfully acquired.
Sonko, through his lawyers, denied the allegations, insisting that the money was legitimately earned from his businesses and investments.
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