The government will seize assets of employees who squandered billions of shillings from the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (KUSCCO).
Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya says no SACCO will lose their savings from the troubled umbrella union.
Oparanya says the government has so far recovered Ksh 136 million from the sale of vehicles seized from KUSCCO.
The government’s asset recovery efforts have so far reclaimed 32 vehicles and several houses owned by KUSCCO as part of the broader initiative to recover the Ksh 13 billion lost in investments.
Oparanya says some assets have been recovered, enabling the compensation of small depositors.
The crackdown will also target KUSCCO officials and SACCO executives who conspired to defraud members of their savings.
The ministry has further appointed a committee of experts to review the SACCO Societies Act of 2008 by among others removing the Central Finance Fund from KUSCCO and Establishing a Central Liquidity Fund that will be regulated by SASRA as part of efforts to tighten regulations in the sector.
Oparanya noted that weak legislation allowed KUSCCO officials to exploit loopholes, as the lobby group operated unregulated and is not under SASRA’s oversight.
By Caroline Njenga
