Diamond Trust Bank associated with His Highness The Aga Khan is said to have colluded with a onetime flamboyant Mombasa tycoon Ali Punjani to illegally transfer 1,953 hectares of land in Voi to a third-party and in so doing, help the investor avoid handing back the land to the county government after the expiry of the land lease period.
Punjani is said to have used the title to get Sh4 billion from DTB.
Punjani is said to have used the title to get Sh4 billion from DTB.
Ali Punjani-drug dealer?
And now, Taita-Taveta county leaders led by Governor Granton Samboja are accusing Voi Plantation Ltd, whose lease expired and was supposed to revert back to county government but had secretly been transferred and registered under Voi Point Limited whose ownership is secret for engaging into corruption.
Samboja has support of Senator Jones Mwaluma, MPs Jones Mlolwa (Voi), Andrew Mwadime (Mwatate), Danson Mwashako (Wundanyi) and several MCAs. Taveta MP Naomi Shabaan and former governor John Mruttu have been silent on the matter.
It has emerged that the change of use from farming to commercial was also done illegally as the county government was kept in the dark at all levels of the transactions.
Samboja has termed the exercise fraudulent and said the land would not go back to the investors who were out to defraud the residents.
Samboja has support of Senator Jones Mwaluma, MPs Jones Mlolwa (Voi), Andrew Mwadime (Mwatate), Danson Mwashako (Wundanyi) and several MCAs. Taveta MP Naomi Shabaan and former governor John Mruttu have been silent on the matter.
It has emerged that the change of use from farming to commercial was also done illegally as the county government was kept in the dark at all levels of the transactions.
Samboja has termed the exercise fraudulent and said the land would not go back to the investors who were out to defraud the residents.
Governor Samboja
Mwashako
Mwaruma
Mwadime
It was expected that after the expiry of the lease, the land was to revert back to the communi
Nasim Devji
ty but it has already been transferred to another entity which has started subdividing and selling it to unsuspecting members of public, thus raising eyebrows.
Surprisingly, DTB is listed at Nairobi Securities Exchange and its operations are monitored. DTB found itself in trouble after the recent Dusit4 Hotel attack in Riverside where its Nairobi Eastleign branch was linked to suspicious withdrawals that might have aided the attack in which several deaths occurred.
Central Bank governor Patrick Njoroge has been asked to investigate the financial deals between DTB and Punjani with fear that the banking institution was used as a conduit of defrauding the residents their land.
It has since emerged that the county leaders held a crisis meeting with cabinet secretary for Lands Farida Karoney and the principal secretary Nicholas Muraguri over the matter. The land ministry agreed to launch investigations into the said fraud that is generating a lot of heat on ground.
Surprisingly, DTB is listed at Nairobi Securities Exchange and its operations are monitored. DTB found itself in trouble after the recent Dusit4 Hotel attack in Riverside where its Nairobi Eastleign branch was linked to suspicious withdrawals that might have aided the attack in which several deaths occurred.
Central Bank governor Patrick Njoroge has been asked to investigate the financial deals between DTB and Punjani with fear that the banking institution was used as a conduit of defrauding the residents their land.
It has since emerged that the county leaders held a crisis meeting with cabinet secretary for Lands Farida Karoney and the principal secretary Nicholas Muraguri over the matter. The land ministry agreed to launch investigations into the said fraud that is generating a lot of heat on ground.
Mlolwa
Mruttu
That the saga is surrounded in mystery and massive irregularities on the sale of the prime land located in Voi town, directors of a Zenith Spatial Planning Agency Ltd in Nairobi have already distanced themselves from the alleged subdivision of the parcel of land in question.
In a letter dated April 1 2019, a one David Weyusia, a land planner and the firm’s director said his company has never been commissioned to carry out subdivision of land parcel LR No 28683 and whose registered owners are Voi Point Limited.
Weyusia claimed that the signature and rubber stamp used in the subdivision documents were forgeries and asked the county to help in apprehending the culprits.
“This is a clear case of fraud which I’m not a party to, neither involved in any manner whatsoever,” he said.
Other documents include a letter addressed to CS Karoney dated April 8 detailing the status of the LR No 28683 by
In a letter dated April 1 2019, a one David Weyusia, a land planner and the firm’s director said his company has never been commissioned to carry out subdivision of land parcel LR No 28683 and whose registered owners are Voi Point Limited.
Weyusia claimed that the signature and rubber stamp used in the subdivision documents were forgeries and asked the county to help in apprehending the culprits.
“This is a clear case of fraud which I’m not a party to, neither involved in any manner whatsoever,” he said.
Other documents include a letter addressed to CS Karoney dated April 8 detailing the status of the LR No 28683 by
Farida Karoney
the regional Land Registrar-in-charge JG Wanjohi. It is also copied to PS Nicholas Muraguri.
According to Wanjohi’s letter, the land was first registered as a grant No CR 51725 in the name of Voi Sisal Estate Limited for 99 years with effect from January 1 1993 at an annual rent of Sh353,795. Since then, the owners had taken several loan facilities from DTB using the land.
Documents reveal that in February 2012, the land was transferred to Voi Plantation Limited and charged to DTB for Sh3 billion and an extra USD5m.
On December 29 2017, a further charge of Sh150 million was registered by the bank over the same land. It is not clear why the transactions were done one year to elections or during general election time.
A third and fourth charge were registered by the same bank on the same date of December 29 2017 valued at Sh1.1 billion and Sh4.2 billion respectively. The charges were discharged on February 13 2019.
According to Wanjohi’s letter, the land was first registered as a grant No CR 51725 in the name of Voi Sisal Estate Limited for 99 years with effect from January 1 1993 at an annual rent of Sh353,795. Since then, the owners had taken several loan facilities from DTB using the land.
Documents reveal that in February 2012, the land was transferred to Voi Plantation Limited and charged to DTB for Sh3 billion and an extra USD5m.
On December 29 2017, a further charge of Sh150 million was registered by the bank over the same land. It is not clear why the transactions were done one year to elections or during general election time.
A third and fourth charge were registered by the same bank on the same date of December 29 2017 valued at Sh1.1 billion and Sh4.2 billion respectively. The charges were discharged on February 13 2019.
Patrick Njoroge
On that same day the money was released, the land was transferred to Voi Point Limited for Sh4b from the bank followed by an extra Sh800 million.
According to banking industry players, such huge payments are linked to inside trading and money laundering which raises a lot of questions.
It on these grounds, Senator Mwaluma wants the bank to come clean and make public its role in the land noting that transactions worth billions were done over the land parcel without knowledge of county leaders.
“This prime land is being used to get huge loans from banks but we need the bank to come clear and reveal what deals were entered with the investor using county land,” he said.
Wundanyi MP Mwashako, a former banker said the bank was hiding shady deals that were not complying with the banking reporting systems as laid down by Central Bank of Kenya.
He added that banks had the moral obligation to do due diligence and establish solid facts about the nature of any land parcel before committing its money.
According to banking industry players, such huge payments are linked to inside trading and money laundering which raises a lot of questions.
It on these grounds, Senator Mwaluma wants the bank to come clean and make public its role in the land noting that transactions worth billions were done over the land parcel without knowledge of county leaders.
“This prime land is being used to get huge loans from banks but we need the bank to come clear and reveal what deals were entered with the investor using county land,” he said.
Wundanyi MP Mwashako, a former banker said the bank was hiding shady deals that were not complying with the banking reporting systems as laid down by Central Bank of Kenya.
He added that banks had the moral obligation to do due diligence and establish solid facts about the nature of any land parcel before committing its money.
“Banks should invest in establishing the truth about land parcels that people want to take loan against to avoid aiding in illegalities,” said the first-time MP.
Taita Taveta county land registrar Sego Manyarkiy noted that the Voi subcounty lands control board issued consent for transfer from Voi Plantation Limited to Voi Point Limited in January 2019. A further consent for subdivision and change of use was issued by the same board on March 13 2019.
In a letter to Lands principal secretary Muraguri noted that Section 17 (1) of the general land regulations provided that applications for subdivision, amalgamation and partitioning of land parcels be submitted to the county government who then may approve or dismiss the application stating reasons for either decision.
Surprisingly, the county had not been involved in any way in the subdivision of land which was a violation of the law.
Sources say that Samboja has engaged lawyers and law enforcement agencies to probe all illegal deals on the land and bring all culprits to book.
DTB operating in Kenya are overseen by Nasim Devji the Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. Abdul Samji is the board chairman with other directors being Pamellar Ager, Guedi Ainache, Shaffiq Dharamshi, Linu, Gitahi, Rizwan Hyder, Irfan Keshavjeez, Moez Jamal, Ismail Mawji and Jamajudin Shamji.
Sources say, Ali Punjani used chairman Abdul Samji to push for the payments in what is claimed to be insider trading and money laundering.
Taita Taveta county land registrar Sego Manyarkiy noted that the Voi subcounty lands control board issued consent for transfer from Voi Plantation Limited to Voi Point Limited in January 2019. A further consent for subdivision and change of use was issued by the same board on March 13 2019.
In a letter to Lands principal secretary Muraguri noted that Section 17 (1) of the general land regulations provided that applications for subdivision, amalgamation and partitioning of land parcels be submitted to the county government who then may approve or dismiss the application stating reasons for either decision.
Surprisingly, the county had not been involved in any way in the subdivision of land which was a violation of the law.
Sources say that Samboja has engaged lawyers and law enforcement agencies to probe all illegal deals on the land and bring all culprits to book.
DTB operating in Kenya are overseen by Nasim Devji the Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. Abdul Samji is the board chairman with other directors being Pamellar Ager, Guedi Ainache, Shaffiq Dharamshi, Linu, Gitahi, Rizwan Hyder, Irfan Keshavjeez, Moez Jamal, Ismail Mawji and Jamajudin Shamji.
Sources say, Ali Punjani used chairman Abdul Samji to push for the payments in what is claimed to be insider trading and money laundering.
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