The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has seized 121 stamps belonging to various companies from Roads Engineer Victor Cheruiyot, who is accused of stealing Sh1.2 billion from the Bomet County government.
Cheruiyot has been under investigation for using his position to irregularly secure multimillion-shilling tenders through several companies, including Hamron Logistics Ltd, Wincheru Construction Ltd, and Vird Building & Construction Ltd, between January 2019 and May 2022.
EACC officers traced Cheruiyot to his home in Bomet, but he managed to evade capture.
During a search of his residence, officials discovered a fully equipped office for creating fake documents related to non-existent construction projects, intended to facilitate payments with high-ranking county officials.
Stamps seized at the home.
The search yielded various procurement and payment documents, including purportedly “approved” contracts, bid documents awaiting signatures, local purchase orders, unused payment vouchers, procurement requisitions, and requests for payments to various companies, all believed to be forgeries, according to the EACC.
Cheruiyot emerged as a key suspect in the theft following the arrest of County Executive Committee members on Thursday last week.
These officials are being sought for alleged procurement fraud and embezzlement of Sh373 million tied to the fraudulent procurement of 12 heavy road construction machines and trucks during the Financial Year 2022/2023.
