CORD Senator Johnstone Muthama has been named as one of the 238 Kenyans who have hidden colossal amounts of money in a mega Swiss bank. This is after details of accounts Switzerland based HSBC Bank were leaked by a former employee to the French government.
The report alleged that a certain Kenyan had stashed over Sh. 3 billion in a Swiss bank.
Mr. Johnstone Muthama, nonetheless, is linked to two accounts named as Rocklands96 and 20443NM opened in 1996 and closed in 2,000. “HSBC files recorded Muthama’s name in connection with the client account ‘ROCKLAND96’, which was set up in 1996 and closed in 2000. Johnstone Muthama was also linked to the numbered client account ‘20443NM’ over the same period. Bank files listed eight of his relatives also linked to the numbered account. The leaked files do not specify the exact role he had in relation to the accounts,” the leaks state.
Mr. Muthama confirmed to a team of journalists under the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that indeed he was aware of the Rockland96 account which he said was opened in 1996. He is described by the leaks as ‘a wealthy gemstone magnate’. Currently, though, Johnstone Muthama has denied operating foreign bank accounts.
According to the leaks dubbed ‘Swiss Leaks’, a total of 742 clients, both Kenyan nationals and others with links to Kenya have deposited a total of 51.28 billion shillings in 1,093 accounts with the bank. “Some 463 accounts were opened between 1975 and 2006. At least 742 clients are associated with Kenya out of which 32 per cent have a Kenyan passport or nationality,” it says.
The leaked HSBC files offer a rare glimpse inside one of the world’s most private banking systems. They show the bank’s dealings with clients engaged in a spectrum of illegal behaviour, especially in hiding hundreds of millions of dollars from tax authorities.
