Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge on Monday revealed some unnamed people tried to instigate a Goldenberg kind of scam three months to the General Election.
Dr Njoroge said the actors in the Kenyan currency market and commercial banks whom he termed rogue played a key role in the weakening of the shilling against the dollar recently.
The CBK boss compared the said scheme to Goldenberg, which is Kenya’s biggest graft scandal, in which Sh158.3 billion of public funds was stolen through dubious gold exporting scheme.
He was addressing newly elected Members of Parliament during an induction ceremony where he explained the recent volatility witnessed in the Kenyan foreign exchange market.
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Dr Njoroge blamed rogue traders in unnamed commercial banks for worsening the situation for the Kenya shilling which was struggling under US dollar, which was then getting stronger.
“I want to assure you that we have an adequate foreign exchange. What was happening is that in the two to three months we had people that were trying to bring us back to Goldenberg," Dr Njoroge said.
He added: “If you remember what was happening with Goldenberg, this is what some of the people were pushing towards."
The CBK boss, however, refused to divulge any names and details on his allegations saying he had investigative capacity.
“I don't want to get into the details because they will ask me where is the proof and I will say I don't have proof – I am not the DCI," he indicated to the bemused lawmakers.
He revealed that the pressure the Kenya shilling experienced in the recent past had more to do with rogue elements in the banking sector than market forces as had been perceived.
“What was happening is you do have rogue traders, particularly banks, and they are working to do their thing. So, we went after those and we've dealt with some of them. You know you cannot kill every single mosquito in the room. But I think the point is we have to deal with it," he assured.
Dr Njoroge further assured that all was now under control after the election period ended.
“We were in a particular kipindi, politics etcetera, everything was politics, but now that we are on the other side, I think that sanity has returned," he concluded.
In the early 1990s, Kenya government paid Sh158.3 billion in subsidies to Kamlesh Pattni’s Goldenberg International which claimed to be exporting non-existent gold and diamonds.
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