BERN, Switzerland, December 8, 2015/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
Representatives of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland have travelled to Nairobi in order to meet the Kenyan Attorney General and discuss a criminal proceeding pending in Switzerland and Kenyan mutual legal assistance requests in the context of an international corruption case known as the «Anglo-Leasing affair».
The visit of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland to Kenya was successful and provided an opportunity for the Kenyan authorities to pass on evidence they had gathered in response to pending Swiss requests for mutual legal assistance.
The visit also provided an opportunity to review the Anglo-Leasing case and discuss the procedures for collaboration between Switzerland and Kenya.
In the Anglo Leasing case, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland opened a criminal investigation in 2009 on suspicion of money laundering against individuals implicated in the conclusion of various contracts worth tens of millions of US dollars that apparently were tainted with irregularities. In this context, there are allegations that money may have been deposited in Swiss accounts or may have transited trough Switzerland.
In parallel with this Swiss criminal proceeding, between 2007 and 2012 the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland executed several mutual legal assistance requests from the Kenyan authorities, providing Kenya with a substantial volume of evidence.
For the purposes of its own proceeding, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland sent a mutual legal assistance request to the Kenyan authorities in June 2014, following up with further complementary requests. The Kenyan authorities have responded quickly to these requests.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland notes with satisfaction that in relation to the Anglo Leasing case, the level of cooperation with the Republic of Kenya, its Attorney General and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is highly satisfactory.
