Dominico Airaghi and Marianne Briner-Mattern
Troons reliance on the testimony of Domenico Airgahi and Marianne Briner-Mattern and his assessment that they were "truthful and honest" under “a reputable company” (Judicial Inquiry, 1990) has also been criticised in the light of subsequent revelations.
It was later to be revealed that for the entire period in which Dominic Airaghi was dealing with the Kenyan Government in respect of the Molasses Project he was on a bail, a convicted and sentenced criminal who had been found to have committed an offence of dishonesty. On the 14th March 1987, Dominico Airaghi and an accomplice were convicted (Civil and Criminal Court of Milan) on charges of alleged corruption, it also being found by the Court that Airaghi had presented false evidence and false documents in an attempt to establish his defence. The Justice described Airaghi as having displayed "the attributes of an International Fortune Hunter. He was sentenced to two years and six months in Prison and fined 2,000,000lire
Marianne Briner-Matter, or Marianne Briner as she termed herself at the time, who described herself as a “secretary” of “International Escort” an “employment agency”, gave evidence in Airaghi’s defence at his trial in Milan. The court found her evidence in support of Airaghi to be false. The judge said of Marianne Briner, “who lived with Airgahi”, that it would better to draw a “compassionate veil” over her testimony and commented on her “unreliability” as a witness.
Airaghi appealed against his conviction, the final appeal ending in the conviction being upheld on the 4th April, 1991.
The use of four different names and two addresses in three years for the various entities of 'BAK', the company through which Airaghi and Briner-Mattern tendered for the Molasses Project, was also unknown to Troon at the time of his investigation although Dalmas Otieno, Kenya's Minister of Industry, gave evidence to Troon that ‘BAK’ was ultimately excluded from the Molasses Project because it was incompetent and in breach of contract.
'BAK Group Marianne Briner + Partner' was registered as a joint partnership on 13 February 1990, the day that Robert Ouko was murdered. Liquidation proceeedings against this BAK entity were initiated in Switzerland on 25 February 1992 and in June of that year it was struck of the Register of Companies. At the same time as the insolvency proceedings in Switzerland, Airaghi and Briner-Mattern established PTA BAK Group International Consultants in Spain but it too was subsequently to be struck off the corporate register.
After Dr Ouko's murder, Domenico Airgahi and Marianne Briner-Mattern's claim for losses in relation to the 'Molasses Project' increased from $150,000 to $5.975 million.
Troon accepted that, in the absence of evidence from Airaghi and Briner-Mattern, there was no evidence against Nicholas Biwott
Read more about this topic: Robert Ouko (politician)