16 MARCH 2012

http://allafrica.com/stories/201203161480.html

The Directors of Synergy Industrial Credit Ltd have been absolved of allegations of money laundering.

The directors had been implicated in Parliament through a question by private notice asked by Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi.

In response, Assistant Minister of State for Provincial Administration Orwa Ojode told Parliament that the Criminal Investigations Department was not conducting a probe on the company.

Ojode clarified to the House that it is in fact Synergy which has filed complaints against another firm, Cape Holdings Limited which it accuses of fraud.

The matter which was brought before Parliament was a long running dispute between Synergy and Cape Holdings over a property on Riverside Drive in Nairobi.

The two companies had allegedly entered into an agreement in which Cape was to develop the property and sell it to Synergy but the deal was breached leading the matters to move to court.

In one of the cases Synergy claiming the breach of the agreement placed a caveat on the property which Cape was developing until the matter is resolved.

Cape Holdings later moved to the court to remove the caveat but the court declined to grant the orders until the case is heard and determined.

During the hearing of the case Cape Holdings Limited allegedly denied receiving certain amount of monies paid to them by Synergy Industrial Credit Limited.

Following the denial on September 16 last year reported the matter to the CID to investigate the matter.

When CID began the investigation Cape moved to the High Court and obtain orders blocking CID, the Director of Public Prosecutions from continuing with the probe or prosecuting them.

The office of the DPP and Synergy also moved court to have the orders blocking the probe lifted.

On February 9, Justice Mohammed Warsame made a ruling and lifted the gagging order against the CID and the DPP paving way for the probe to continue.