The county government of Embu is on the spot after an audit report released on Wednesday by the Public Accounts and Investment Committee (PAIC) revealed an alleged existence of 19 secret bank accounts.
PAIC released the report after studying Auditor General’s report that investigated financial statements from the county's Executive for the financial year ended June 30, 2017.
According to reports from Citizen TV, the accounts linked to the county government had a balance of Ksh. 518,995,353 and are suspected to have been embezzled from public funds.
PAIC chairman Philip Nzangi claimed that the existence of the alleged accounts was contrary to the County Government's Section 82 of the Public Finance Management Regulations 2015.
The count government failed to offer an explanation for the bank accounts.
Two revenue accounts at Runyenjes Level Four Hospital were also highlighted in the report which was presented to the National Assembly. The institution could not offer a supportive explanation of massive withdrawals from the account. The withdrawals were as high as Sh 34,751,498 and Sh 11,508,452.
As at July 24, 2019, the two bank accounts were established to have had balances of Sh 554,289.68 and Sh 15,814,210.99.
PAIC recommended for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to launch investigations into the suspicious activities of the bank accounts and bring to books those who will be found guilty of malpractices.