Mathieu Zahui, the chief financial officer of the African Development Foundation, a USAID-affiliated agency, has agreed to plead guilty to accepting bribes and lying to investigators. He steered $800,000 to a friend's Kenyan company, receiving kickbacks while the firm profited without providing services. The case highlights concerns over corruption in U.S. foreign aid programs.
Mathieu Zahui, director of financial management at the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), admitted in federal court documents filed on Friday to fraudulent activities involving grants and contracts. As part of the scheme, USADF transferred $800,000 to a Kenya-based company operated by his friend, Maina Gakure. Gakure paid Zahui a $12,000 kickback, and the company retained $134,886 despite performing no work. The funds served as a "pass-through" to settle agency debts, obscuring the true destination of the money and inflating the appearance of aid to Africa.
Prosecutors detailed how Zahui instructed a staffing vendor to bill the Kenyan firm instead of USADF directly. The firm then invoiced USADF for the debt plus a markup exceeding $20,000, which Zahui approved knowing no related services were rendered. This occurred while Zahui steered additional contracts and grants to Gakure's firm, Ganiam, including one for "travel" during COVID-19 restrictions when such activities were limited.
Zahui, who previously worked with Gakure at the Department of Veterans Affairs, faces up to seven years in prison for accepting gratuities and making a false statement to the USAID Office of Inspector General, where he denied receiving kickbacks. "The USADF Director of Financial Management’s fraudulent acts betrayed the trust of the American people," stated Sean M. Bottary, acting Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at USAID OIG.
The scandal emerged amid scrutiny of USADF, which locked its doors in 2024 to block auditors from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In a May interview, Zahui defended the agency's operations, noting scattered funds in African banks and his travels to manage them. He acknowledged some grants could fund non-African expenses but initially downplayed ties to Gakure.
Sen. James Risch (R-ID), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who investigated USADF irregularities since 2023, called the plea "a tremendous win for law and order." He has proposed legislation to abolish the agency, citing risks to public faith in foreign aid. Ongoing probes suggest broader issues, with USAID's inspector general handling 350 open investigations into foreign grants.