The Court has declined to shield steel billionaire Ashok Doshi from arrest over alleged land fraud in Nairobi.
Doshi and his wife are accused of fraud relating to a prime parcel of land in Nairobi, with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji looking to arrest and prosecute them.
The two had moved to court to permanently block their arrest relating to the matter, but the court found their case unmerited.
“In the instant petition, the petitioners are threatened with arrest and arraignment over allegations of fraudulent acquisition of a private property and failure to pay lawful stamp duty, these are not issues which this court can decide,” ruled Justice Eric Ogola.
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The land in question is along Processional Way, and was initially owned by Greenview Lodge Ltd. Doshi alleges that the land was sold to Magnum Properties Ltd before they bought it in 2018 for Ksh150 million.
In several complaints launched by Greenview Lodge owner Jenniffer Nthenya, it is alleged that the land was fraudulently transferred to Magnum Properties Ltd and subsequently to Doshi and that stamp duty was not paid.
According to Doshi, after investigations by the police and the DPP, the complaints were found to be unfounded.
The DPP however said that there was no evidence that the DPP and the police intend to maliciously investigate, arrest and charge them arbitrarily.
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Greenview Lodge says it was allocated the land by the government in 1986, and had paid Ksh1,050,000 by 1992 in allotment fees.
However, the directors of the company died, and Ms Nthenya was forced to look for a buyer of the land. Doshi, through his company Magnum Properties Ltd, offered to buy the property for Ksh120 million. He persuaded Ms Nthenya to use his lawyer for the transaction.
Magnum Properties Ltd did not however pay the amount, instead purported to obtain a grant over the land despite not being the allottee of the land.
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