When Deputy President William Ruto was asked to explain his relationship with controversial Turkish businessman Harun Aydin, he said that he was a business ally who was seeking to invest in Uganda. DP Ruto then explained that he had negotiated for a loan worth Sh. 15 billion from Equity Bank on his behalf.
Now, Equity Bank has come out to deny having any links with the Turkish. The bank has also refuted DP Ruto’s claims that he pitched for a loan at Equity on behalf of Aydin.
“He does not operate and does not have a banking relationship neither does he have a loan with us,” Equity Bank managing director Gerald Warui on Wednesday told National Assembly Finance Committee chaired by Homa Bay MP Gladys Wanga.
Aydin was deported on August 9 after the government said his travel into and out of the country did not match up with records at the Immigration department as well as his being linked to alleged terror activities. It was also alleged that Aydin may have been part of a money laundering ring that involves prominent local politicians.
Blowing nose in Nairobi to cost Sh. 10,000, sleeping in kitchen Sh. 50,000
After his deportation, DP Ruto issued an apology on behalf of the government. This apology was rebuked by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i who said that the government could not issue any apologies to a man suspected of criminal activities.