The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has gone to the High Court seeking orders to recover Sh78,161,858 from a former Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) boss.

EACC says it has filed a case at the Mombasa High Court to have Antony Muhanji surrender the amount he allegedly acquired fraudulently while working at the KPA.

In a statement, EACC said Muhanji, through his firm Mukitek Investment Limited, deceitfully bagged a contract for excavation and concrete works at the authority.

The anti-graft body revealed that it unearthed the matter during its investigation after its Mombasa office received a tip-off on illegal wiring of funds from KPA.

EACC says it was established that Muhanji’s firm secured the tender with falsified documents and he personally supervised the excavation work as Project Manager.

A payment totaling 52,191,704 that had already been awarded to the senior KPA employee was then frozen to allow the officers to conclude their investigation.

"The purpose was to ensure that in the event the Commission wins the recovery suit, any forfeiture and reinstitution orders issued by the Court will not be in vain," the EACC statement reads in part.

In its suit filed in Mombasa on Monday, the agency terms the Sh78 million as proceeds of crime and seeks to have the entire amount forfeited to the State.