THE GOVERNMEMENT HANDED OVER THE REPORT OF TEGETA ESCROW ACCOUNT TO THE ANTI CORRUPTION.
Finance minister Saada Mkuya told the Parliament yesterday that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has forwarded its report on the role of Stanbic Bank and Mkombozi Commercial Bank to the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) for further investigation as required by law.
The two banks were accused of violating anti-money laundering rules and transferring money from the Tegeta escrow account.
“FIU has already handed its intelligence report to PCCB and that is the requirement of the Anti-Money Laundering Act,” said Ms Mkuya as she tabled the 2015/16 budget estimates of the Ministry of Finance.
The then chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Mr Zitto Kabwe, told Parliament when presenting the committee’s report on the escrow account controversy in November that there was evidence that some public officials received huge amounts of money through Stanbic Bank and Mkombozi Commercial Bank.
He also said that the $122 million (Sh207 billion) that was deposited in the escrow account that was under the watch of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) was paid into two accounts operated by Pan African Power Solutions Tanzania Limited (PAP) at Stanbic Bank and the accounts were closed after they were emptied.
Ms Mkuya said that the FIU received 98 cases of suspicious transactions related to money laundering and financing of terrorism and 21 intelligence reports were handed to the responsible authorities.
The investigations involved 15 banks, four insurance companies and one casino.
