No Trial for Zindaba and IMIS boss, DEC is Intimidated, Walid El Nahas claims to Have State House Backing

On 9th July, 2019, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) arrested former Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) boss Zindaba Soko and the board chairman for Intelligent Mobility Solutions (IMS) Walid El Nahas, for Money Laundering related charges involving the Speed Camera scandal. Soko was jointly charged with El Nahas, the board chairman for Intelligent Mobility Solutions, a private company that was awarded a government tender to supply and install speed cameras.
By and large, the charges were anchored on money laundering and corrupt practices but many more charges were intended by the commission. In clear terms, in one count they were jointly charged and in another they were charged separately.
At the time of the arrest, it was envisaged that DEC would not proceed to announce the arrest because there were three other targets connected to the alleged crime, so the announcement was expected to only come after the other suspects were been picked up, but Soko and Walid were arrested and released on bond.”
The thrust of the matter is that the former RTSA boss had been implicated in the speed cameras tender after he allegedly received over US$100,000 (approximately over K1 million) into his bank account, which investigators suspect to have been gratification. This money is directly established to have come from Walid El Nahas’s bank account. You need not be an astute detective for you to draw inference that Soko was receiving this cash from Walid as gratification for the award of the Speed camera contract.
The material facts are that in August 2017, about two months before the speed camera tender was awarded, the former RTSA boss received money which was deposited or transferred by Walid from IMS into Mr Soko’s Stanbic bank account. Two months later, the tender was awarded to the same company. Surely, if a little is all one has, it only requires a little intelligence to know that some grandest corruption occurred between Soko and Walid El Nahas.
Today is the 29th day of November, 2019. Nothing, absolutely nothing has been done about taking Walid and Zindaba before the courts of law to be tried for their hardcore corruption. Someone must be answerable for this. The silence of the DEC on this matter is all too loud.
After our thorough investigations, the dots are beginning to connect. IMIS chairman Walid El Nahas has continued to claim that his case will never see the court room. The Lebanese businessman is reported to be enjoying maximum control of the state machinery.
Walid El Nahas claims to have access to the highest echelons of power at State House. Walid has told his close associates that the whole process at DEC was nothing but a stupid academic exercise. With the extent of state house connection that Walid has continued to boast about, the DEC is wallowing in a predicament. To push Walid’s case appears to be an indirect declaration of war against the powers that be at state house. For all intents and purposes, this is the position that Walid has taken.
Walid’s financial might is reported to be gradually penetrating the corridors of DEC. Walid has expressly told Zindaba Soko that he will have their matter resolved by simply paying off anybody who attempts to push for prosecution. In so far as Walid is concerned, so far, so good. His strategy appears to be working. However, the problem is that days are numbered for the people who are protecting Walid at statehouse. We know of this because Walid has continued fronting his connection to state house and several ministers as the reason for his immunity against prosection. Though it may tarry, Walid’s day in court shall come in the not too distant future. All those sharing in the corrupt loot shall face the temerity of their actions in equal measure.
For the Prosecutions unit at DEC, the message is clear. You have an opportunity to do the honourable thing. Take Walid and Soko to court so that they can answer for their corruption. In the alternative, posterity shall judge you harshly.