American in Anglo Leasing case disowns statements

Questions have emerged about the integrity of an American witness in the Anglo Leasing case after he disowned, through an FBI agent, statements tabled in court by the anti-corruption agency.

The American, Bradley Birkenfeld, on Wednesday disowned court records indicating that he had signed some of the security supplies associated with Anglo Leasing contracts.

The EACC on April 21, 2015 disclosed to the court that Mr Birkenfeld, 50, signed crucial documents as the managing director of Infotalent, one of the companies that supplied security items under the Anglo Leasing contracts.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) said in court papers that Mr Birkenfeld signed a supplier’s finance agreement and documents for direct procurement as Infotalent’s managing director.

DISOWNED SIGNATURE

The special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Mario Garcia Tariche, told the anti-corruption court that Mr Birkenfeld had indicated that the signature was not his.

The FBI agent had been requested by the Kenyan government to assist in the Anglo Leasing investigations.

“Mr Birkenfeld said he did not sign the contract and the address indicated was his home address and not office address,” said Mr Tariche in reference to an interview he conducted on June 11, 2015.

But Mr Tariche was at pains to explain why a document referring to the June 11, 2015 meeting indicates he signed it on June 6, 2015, days before the said meeting actually took place.

ANGLO LEASING SUSPECT

Mr Birkenfeld, who was initially a suspect in the Anglo Leasing lawsuit, has declined to testify personally in Kenya, citing security fears.

The court had issued a warrant of arrest against Mr Birkenfeld when he was being interviewed by the FBI agent.

In the US, Mr Birkenfeld was a prosecution witness who helped expose widespread tax fraud by wealthy Americans using Swiss bank accounts.

A former employee of the Swiss bank UBS, he also served two years in jail for helping rich Americans in California dodge federal taxes.

JAIL IN US

Mr Tariche on Wednesday said he was not aware of the Kenyan arrest warrant against Mr Birkenfeld, though he said he was aware of Mr Birkenfeld’s two-year jail term in the US.

Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, for the defence, said Mr Birkenfeld became a prosecution witness in a deal that required him to implicate other people in exchange for his freedom.

In the suit, former senior government officials and businessmen have been charged in connection with multibillion-shilling security tenders in 2003 that the government cancelled as irregular.

The hearing resumes on November 20.