NKC : THE CLEAN BANK STATEMENTS

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 The train was 20 minutes from the station when I heard a knock on the door. When I opened it, I couldn’t believe who it was. Kavulunze Kilai.

”Hello Nina, I know this is creepy but give me five minutes to explain.” I didn’t move an inch. I was frozen in place hoping that I was seeing a ghost. This nightmare was not ending and it was getting really frustrating. “Please Nina do not scream. I am not going to hurt you. I honestly, truly need your help in finding out what Elijah is doing. Take a deep breath and relax.” I was really thinking about screaming but I was a sensible lady and I didn't want to attract unwanted attention.  I took in a big breath, stepped away from the door and sat down. I didn’t have anything to say so I kept quiet.  He took this opportunity to plead his case.

“I have been thinking about that weekend when we met in my house. You are among a few innocent revelers among a crowd of not so nice people in that party. I think Lillian brought you to that party to recruit you. You have skills that would come in handy for Elijah’s business. It would have started with simple auditing jobs where you would point out how a victim’s money was swindled. What you wouldn’t know is that you would be helping Elijah perfect his art moving money without being detected. I know this makes sense to you. What better way to hide fraudulent transaction than to understand the recommended techniques to prevent the fraud. He would have first hand information about the measures put in place in financial systems without spooking the cops and you.”

“Why are you following me? You do realize that I can get a restraining order against you for stalking me?”

“Nina, I just told of an elaborate plan to use you to commit fraud and your more concerned about me being here?”

“Yes Mr. Kilai. You have admitted to conducting research on me, my work, where I live, my associates, my clients and now you are harassing me on my way home. You claim your brother is dangerous, who said you are not dangerous? What am I supposed to think? Tell me!”

“I had someone dig up everything about you. I had to be sure what kind of person you were. I had someone watch your business premises. A detective came to see you this morning so I had to be careful. I couldn’t come to see you at the office neither could I call you so I followed you after you left work. Can you please call me Kavul. Mr. Kilai sounds very serious for a Friday evening don’t you think?”

”Okay Kavul, kindly leave my cabin right now.”

“What? But you haven’t responded to what I have told you. Aren’t you at least going to help me out?”

“If you truly need my help, answer my questions then I will think about your crazy theories. Why do you have spy skills like following people, ways to avoid being followed, avoiding cops, planning a meeting that wouldn’t be detected and knowing the right places to dig up information? If you don’t want to answer the questions please leave me“

“I used to work for some military contractor companies for several countries for a few years back. When I came home, my family name was tarnished and my brother was living the fast life. So you see Nina I really need your help. I can easily hunt down a thief but numbers and paperwork isn’t my thing. Don’t be scared of me. I wasn’t in black ops. We used to do search and rescue of kidnapped soldiers, politicians or family members of prominent people. Most of the kidnappings were done to give leverage to the perpetrators. There are people who use innocent lives like pawns in a game of chess.”

“I will think about it Mr. Kilai after the weekend. I need to relax.”

“I was hoping that we start working this weekend. I booked a ticket to Mombasa because I didn’t know exactly where you were going. I have a few documents that make absolutely no sense to me. They are my brother's bank statements and they look absolutely clean. I can easily book a hotel room at whatever town you are going to. I just need two hours of working with you to figure some things out. I will pay you by the hour.”

I didn’t see the need to respond. The man made plans for me without any consultation. I laid my head back on the seat and closed my eyes. The man truly was used to getting things done his way. A little suspense should do him some good. Besides, it was my weekend getaway from the city so he couldn’t make me work unless I chose to. The movement of the trains was lulling so I slowly drifting to sleep.

A knock on the door woke me up. I assumed it was the ticketing officer and reached into my bag to take out my ticket only for a waitress to walk in. Turns out Kavul had made himself comfortable and decided to order some food. I was almost at Emali station and I felt bubbling inside at the thought of going back home. The silence in the cabin was kind of comforting. At least I was not being questioned or scrutinized for stuff I didn’t know anything about it. I was more than happy to head home. ”Hey Nina, I want to give you some documents you can look over in case you decide you won’t come to see me over the weekend. I couldn’t find anything useful but maybe you can.” I picked up the papers and walked away. The man had a way to make anyone feel uncomfortable but that was not going to deter me from enjoying my weekend.

The train pulled into the station and I walked out of the train without looking back. I knew I would find some delicious chicken stew waiting for me. The prospect was enough to make me salavate. Upon reaching home, no one was there except the farm help but there was chicken stew on the dinning table and a note. Apparently everyone left to my uncle’s place for a get together. The interesting stories that were going to be share were going keep people at my uncle’s all night long especially if there is some meat to roast. I took a shower, relaxed and ate my dinner as I watched a new series but by 10 O’clock I was extremely bored. The documents Kavul that gave me were on the table so I reached out to for them and took an overall look. They were clean bank statements of some of Elijah’s bank accounts. Out of the three accounts only one of them seemed kind of suspicious. There were large loans taken out on this account and repaid within very short periods. Normally this would look okay but with the knowledge I had about Elijah, it looked pretty abnormal. The man had enough money from the legitimate family businesses, without accounting for his illegal activities so why does he need loans.

I couldn’t hold back my curiosity about the matter and I knew only one person in close proximity who would answer my questions about Elijah. There were some contact details to Kavul in the envelope containing the documents. The man was bright enough to foresee the need for further research into his brother’s life.  I called him and we agreed to meet at the resort he was staying in on condition he bought wine and paid for the Uber.  The meet was a distraction to reduce the boredom plus a girl could always use some more money. Living in the city for long makes it hard to let go and just relax.  

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Kavul was waiting at the parking lot wearing a t-shirt, jeans and flip flops. This was an easy look for him. Who knew such a serious guy could relax and look so casual. He was easy on the eyes too. I chose a simple flowing sleeveless dress and some maasai sandals. There was no way I was dressing heavily with the warm temperatures that Emali was experiencing. The dining area at the resort was full of families who had kids and the bar had some noisy drunkards so, we went to his room which was spacious and had a sitting area. A bottle of wine in a bucket of ice was waiting along with some snacks. I took some chocolate from the bowl of snacks, took out the documents and set them on the table. It was time for the questions.

“I have a few questions starting off with; I thought you guys are rich? Why is your brother taking out so many loans?”

“Yes we are. The Kilai family wealth is enough to feed the whole family and their offspring for a lifetime. We still have our own riches individually but that doesn’t stop some of us from being greedy. The money isn’t enough for everyone. Some people like my brother always want more money. He just likes to be bad.”

“Is there any specific illegal business that you are aware of the your brother does?”

“I know that he is in charge of many HR scams in the city. It has become a requirement for job seekers to pay something to get a job. Elijah knows the owners of a majority of the HR firms in the city. These firms have HR administrators from many companies in the city working for them. Basically, he knows about job opportunities before the companies announce them. “

”I don’t think that brings in a lot of money though. These loans are too large to be offset by these little sums of kickbacks made from job seekers.”

“I think you are missing the point Nina. You are thinking of this in a small scale level. Lillian is a recruit of Elijah who works as an HR freelancer. She has a lot of connections in the HR community. There are others who work directly for Elijah. This set up is a good foundation for running a kickback ring. If every interview taking place in the city pays 10k and there are 100 interviews by Elijah’s people in a day, that would mean they make 1 million per day. Elijah gets a cut of half a million and life goes on. “

“Why would people pay Elijah that much money? They can keep the money when they choose a suitable candidate?”

“Elijah provides valuable services. He can offer papers that appear truly genuine. Most of his work does not raise any suspicions. It is untraceable and only someone looking into my brother would know what they are looking for. People who are willing to pay kickbacks for a job are desperate. They don’t meet all the requirements of the job description. Elijah polishes their papers so that they meet all the requirements. He gets his money, the candidate gets a job and the HR officer makes some side money without the company being suspicious. It is a perfect hustle. It is not illegal, just morally wrong. Only the paperwork may be illegal but the hustle can’t really be prosecuted. Have you found something?”

“If what you are telling me is true, then the HR scam may make Elijah a lot more money than we know about. Our calculation is based on the entry jobs. For senior positions, job seekers would have to pay more. I think you brother is taking loans to clean his money. He is a clever and patient man. He took the time to create a statement that reads like one of a serious business man. the clean bank statements then grant him access to loan facilities. The bank would have no problem lending him large sums of money and he repays it with the money from the HR scam. “

“It doesn’t make sense. He just takes money and repays it. Why go through all that struggle?”

“If your brother deposited 2.5 million in a bank, there would be so many questions. However, banks rarely question money that is meant to repay a debt especially if you show the intention of taking another loan soon. These statements show deposits of 250k at least twice or thrice in one week. Does he own any business that has cash flows on a daily basis? Something that would make him look less suspicious when making large deposits?”

“He owns a fish and chips joint in the CBD. When he bought it I thought it was an odd choice. He owns a swanky club at Kilimani, has a boutique that sells designer items only and he has a dealership for Tesla, Ferrari, BMW and Bentley. A fast food joint in town seemed off but now it makes sense. He can use the money from his scams and present it as money from the food joint. No one will look into his life or where the money is coming for. Do you know he took a loan to  buy the club and repaid it in 7 months. “

“How much did the club cost?”

“57 million. He could have paid in cash over a few months but he took a loan.”

“Your brother is making everything look legitimate. If someone investigated his properties, it would show that he took out loans to buy them. It would then seem like he worked hard in the business to repay the loan quickly. Damn! Your brother is detail oriented. This level of planning is not common. It is very rare to find people who think about every facet of financial transaction.”

“Nina…you sound impressed. Are you becoming an admirer of my brothers work?”

“I thought you were supposed to be fun and relaxed. I don’t admire you brothers work but it’s good to find a worthy challenge from time to time. Do you think you can order another bottle of wine?”

He nodded. As Kavul ordered another bottle of wine, I wondered what he would do with this new information. He was my client. I knew he won’t take the information to the police or the bank. The police wouldn’t dare touch Elijah because of his family name, connections and money. The bank can’t afford to lose a profitable customer so what can be done. I was a bit tipsy so my mind drifted as I waited for more wine and snacks.

“Are you ok Nina?”

“You like calling my name. I am fine just tipsy. Tell me about yourself, something that a PI cannot find out when digging up dirt on you. ”

“There isn’t much to know. I like reading and watching animation movies.”

“Animation? I would have never guessed that in a million years. That is truly interesting. The big, brave, no nonsense Kavul watches animation movies. Do you also watch the fairy tale ones?”

“Yes I do. A good animation is based on simple but important morals. Besides, the good guys always win unlike in the real world. In real life it seems good guys loose all the time. Sometimes loosing is so bad that some of the good people switch sides.”

“It is very easy to get beaten and frustrated in the war of good vs evil.”

The wine came through and Kavul topped off our glasses. It was way past midnight but the atmosphere felt so relaxing I was not in a hurry to leave the sofa I was lying on. Kavul seemed in deep thought.

“Penny for your thought?”

“I am really worried about what else Elijah might be into. He is rebellious as hell. He will the downfall of our family. I need to find a way to destroy his empire without him noticing. I could really use your help. I will pay for your services.”

“First of all you can start off by paying me for today’s services. That will cost you 50k. Second, I am not willing to help you in your ‘quest’. Finally, you only know about this hustle, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to bring down his operations one at a time. You worked for Defense Companies so you know how teams work. The efficiency of your brothers operations is impeccable. Find a flaw in the chain of events and strike.”

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I must have dozed off shortly after because when I work up it was six in the morning. There was a cab waiting at the resort reception to take me home. Kavul had left with instructions that the resort can provide whatever I want and the bill should be sent over to him.
There was a family tradition of having a picnic every Saturday afternoon. I knew family would be having a picnic later in the day so I headed home to help with the preparations. It seemed I was going to have a great weeken
d spending time with my family, cooking some old recipes with mum and of course the occasional lecture about finances and investment from Dad.

However, throughout the day I couldn’t stop to think about Kavul. He was a gentleman the previous night. There was an air of class and sophistication about him. However, it was hard to determine the kind of man he was. I was hoping to steer clear of him now that I had helped solve his issue but I had a feeling that things were not that simple.