Erupting in June 2008, the Grand Regency Scandal concerns the sale of the Grand Regency Hotel in Downtown Nairobi, Kenya, from the Central Bank of Kenya to an unspecified group of Libyan investors called "Libya Arab African Investment Company".[1] The sale was directed by Finance Minister Amos Kimunya, leading to the passage of near-unanimous censure of Kimunya by the Kenyan Parliament on 1 July 2008.[2] On 8 July 2008 Kimunya submitted his resignation, and called for an investigation to clear his name.
The controversy involves the no-bid nature of the sale, the secrecy under which it was negotiated, the identity of the buyers, and the price of the luxury hotel- reportedly 2.9 billion Kenyan Shillings (approx. US$44 million), around one-third of previous appraisals of the property's value in the neighbourhood of 7 billion Kenyan Shillings (approx, US$114 million). The value of the hotel is disputed by Kimunya. Lands Minister James Orengo blew the whistle on the sale, charging his fellow cabinet minister, Kimunya, with corruption.
- ^ BBC News, 30 June 2008: Probe into Kenya hotel sell-off
- ^ Business Daily, 2 July 2008: Kenya: MPs Censure Kimunya Over Sale of Grand Regency Hotel