Former Tanzania Revenue Authority boss Harry Kitilya, former Stanbic Bank head of Investment and Miss Tanzania 1996 Shose Sinare and head of Legal and Company secretary Sioi Sumari (left) are led out of the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam yesterday after their application for bail was dismissed. The three are charged with eight counts, including forgery and laundering of over $6 million (Sh12 billion).
Former Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) boss Harry Kitilya, on trial over a Sh12 billion money laundering scam, will continue to languish in remand prison after a court in Dar es Salaam denied him bail.
The Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court said it cannot grant bail to Mr Kitilya and two other people facing the same charge because their offence was not bailable.
Senior Resident Magistrate Emilius Mchauru sided with the prosecution that he had no discretion to release the accused on bail.
“There’s no doubt that the offence of money laundering the three accused face is not a bailable offence under our laws. Therefore, this court lacks powers to entertain the application for bail filed by the accused,” the magistrate ruled. Mr Kitilya is charged along former Miss Tanzania and head of Investment Banking at Stanbic Bank, Shose Sinare, and Sioi Graham Solomon, the former Chief Legal Counsel to the bank.
They are facing charges of forgery, uttering false information and fraudulently obtaining $6 million (about Sh12 billion) which was paid to them as a kickback in facilitating the securing of the $600 million foreign loan by the government of Tanzania.
Mr Kitilya’s firm, Enterprise Growth Markets Advisors (EGMA), was allegedly paid the Sh12 billion bribe in the loan transaction.
Yesterday, the defence team led by a prominent advocate Dr Ringo Tenga argued about the validity of the money laundering charge.
According to Dr Tenga, the charge sheet discloses no particulars relating to the offence of money laundering.
He requested the court to dismiss the charge, arguing that the money laundering charge was fatally defective and could not be cured by law.
The court will rule on the submission by Dr Tenga on April 22. Prosecution has alleged that the accused committed the offences between August 2012, March 2013 and September 2015.
It is alleged in the first count that the accused conspired with other people not in court to fraudulently obtain from the government of Tanzania between August 2012 and March 2013 in Dar es Salaam.
Ms Sinare is separately charged with three offences of forgery and uttering false document to facilitate the deal.
According to court documents, it was alleged that on August 2, 2012 at Stanbic Bank Tanzania Limited headquarters the socialite Sinare made a false Standard Bank’s financing proposal to show that the London bank, in collaboration with the Stanbic Bank of Tanzania, would raise a loan amounting to $550 million for the government of Tanzania at a facilitation fee of 2.5 per cent of the principal amount.
The accused also fraudulently uttered false documents to the Finance ministry to facilitate the deal. They are also accused of making false mandate letter for proposed offering of $550 million financing dated September 20, 2012 to show that the two banks would raise the money for Tanzanian government if engaged as a lead manager, at a facilitation fee of 2.4 per cent of the principal amount.
According to prosecution, the accused had on November 5, 2012 at the Stanbic bank main office, prepared a false collaboration agreement to show that Stanbic bank Tanzania Limited has established a consortium to collaborate with EGMA to arrange for the $ 550 financing to the Tanzanian government.
Source:TheCitizen
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