The Kenya Airports Authority Chairman, Mr Caleb Kositany, took to social media to share a screenshot of the entrance web page of the Monetary Occasions wherein it reported that the USA Federal Reserve is investigating Kenya’s 2014 $2.7 billion Euro Bond, and had a photograph of former president Uhuru Kenyatta connected to the story. The article was attributed to American based mostly journalist Demitri Sevastopulo.
“Therefore the noise,” Mr Kositany captioned his put up with the screenshot.
Nonetheless, it now seems that the information shared by Mr Kositany is pretend information after the journalist in query took him on, saying he by no means wrote such an article.
“It is a full pretend. I didn’t write any story about Kenya. Mr Kositany, I hope you’re extra cautious about the way you run your airports and you need to be ashamed for spreading such #fakenews. After I was 2 years previous, I did ‘meet’ Jomo Kenyatta on a seashore IN Mombasa however I’m fairly certain we didn’t discuss concerning the Federal Reserve,” mentioned Mr Sevastopulo on December 1, 2023.
Within the pretend information article attributed to Mr Sevastopulo, it was alleged that investigators have been trying into how $117 million (Sh 17,930,240,000) was moved from a JP Morgan account to the non-public checking account of a relative of Uhuru Kenyatta, Mr Magana Kenyatta.
“US Federal Reserve Financial institution of New York has opened an investigation on the $2.75 billion Euro Bond issued by the Kenya authorities in 2014…the US authorities is worried that inverstors cash from a Kenyan Governmetn account to a personal account at JP Morgan Chase. Investigtors declare that $117 million moved to an account belonging to a Magana Kenyatta- a step-brother to former president Uhuru Kenyatta,” learn the pretend information article partially.
The pretend information article went on to assert that the 2014 Euro Bond, the most important debut by any African nation on the time on the worldwide bond market, “has turn into an emblem of what critics say is holding Kenya again: corruption and authorities mismanagement of public funds” Apparently, Uhuru and his Jubilee Social gathering together with critics have been engaged over a tit-for-tat affair over how the cash was spent.
The pretend information additionally claimed opposition chief Raila Odinga was the one who famous the switch of the $117 million from the federal government account with JP Morgan Chase in New York to “one with the Federal Reserve Financial institution of New York on Sept 8, 2014, in accordance with switch receipts.” Additional, it was alleged Raila known as on the American authorities to research the monetary transaction and show they have been “not a part of this grand theft.”
“The motion by the fed is prone to throw a spanner within the works when Kenya repays the $2.75 billion Euro Bond this December. Id the investigations proves monies have been irregularly moved, then the U.S Authorities could sanction or high-quality JP Morgan Chase and even situation sanctions to members of the Kenyatta household,” learn the pretend information article.
