Two days after Nakumatt was liquidated, creditors have reportedly identified billions worth of assets linked to the retail’s founder Atul Shal and members of his family.
A report prepared by the, Patel Kahi, the retail chain’s court-appointed administrator, indicates that the banks have traced 11 properties worth Ksh3.68 billion and plans are underway for a possible seizure.
The assets, linked to third parties of Shah’s family who own bulk of Nakumatt shares, include shopping malls, office blocks and prime pieces of land in Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru.
“The assets are linked to Atul Shah and other related entities such as Collogne Investment Limited, Nakumatt Investment Ltd, River View Plaza and Park View Shopping Arcade among others,” Kahi is quoted by Business Daily.
Some of the assets listed by the administrator include a Ksh2 billion property in Nairobi owned by Collogne, Park View Shopping Arcade (Ksh600 million), a Ksh220 million plot in Westland under Nakumatt Investments, an office block valued at Ksh350 million in Mombasa and River View Plaza, which is worth Ksh200 million.
Read: Struggling Retailer Nakumatt Liquidated Following Creditors Meeting
“The land and buildings belong to related and third parties and not directly to Nakumatt,” the administrator adds.
The developments come a week after it emerged that Nakumatt directors pocketed billions before the once-popular retailer collapsed.
Already detectives from the Anti-banking fraud under the Directorate of Criminal Investigations are probing the theft and money laundering claims that allegedly brought Nakumatt to its knees.
As detectives train their guns on the directors’ paper trail, the lenders are now seeking to identify more properties and oversea bank accounts linked to Shah with a view of recovering billions owed by Nakumatt.
Read Also: Revealed: Nakumatt Directors Siphoned Billions Before Retailer Collapsed
The creditors are also seeking assets from third parties who acted as guarantors to Nakumatt’s multi-billion shilling debt.
“Banks will now go after guarantors some of which are Nakumatt sister companies. The guys who will walk home with zero are the commercial paper holders,” said Kahi.
The administrator’s report indicates that the retailer owes DTB Ksh3.6 billion, Standard Chartered (Ksh900 million), KCB (Ksh1.9 billion), Bank of Africa (Ksh328 million), UBA (Ksh126 million) and GT Bank (Ksh104 million).
On Tuesday, the creditors owed a whooping Ksh39 billion by Nakumatt, voted in favour of its liquidation.
Read Also: Businessman Drags Nakumatt’s Atul Shah To Court Over Sh9.5 Million Liquor Debt
The secured creditors will share about Ksh422 million received from the sale of six Nakumatt branches and the retail chain’s only remaining assets. Naivas is set to buy out the branches.
The Tuesday meeting was called after an audit report by Parker Randall Eastern Africa indicated irregularities in the financials as of February 2018.
According to the report, the directors borrowed at least Ksh1 billion in interest-free soft loans by the time it was placed under administration. As of February 2018, the amount stood at Ksh948 million.
Read Also: Nakumatt CEO Atul Shah Accused Of Stealing Ksh18 Billion Worth Of Stock
“Significant in this net balance is Ksh948 million due from the directors. These receivables are not supportable based on the available evidence. The amounts due from a director are interest-free. They relate to short-term advances through a current account,” reads the auditor’s report in part.
The report notes that the amount is part of Ksh2.8 billion of related transactions that the company ‘lost’ in the suspected looting spree. Some of the amount was claimed from its Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania subsidiaries, which ceased operations.
The administrator has written off Ksh1.5 billion of the receivables, leaving a balance of Ksh1.3 billion.
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