Francis Muli
Oil tycoon Yagnesh Devani will be extradited from the United Kingdom to Kenya to face Ksh7.6 billion Triton petroleum scandal, after close to 10 years of litigation.
Devani faces 19 charges of fraud, with allegations that his firm Triton Petroleum disposed of 96,000 tonnes of fuel mortgaged to Emirates National Oil Corporation (Singapore) without its permission.
“Accordingly, and for the reasons given, I would allow the appeal and would determine that Mr Devani’s extradition to Kenya would not breach his article 3 rights,” ruled Lord Justice Underhill.
Devani, 55, was arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police in 2011 on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.
Devani has been claiming that he will not face a fair trial in Kenya, following his previous experience where he said he was locked in filthy cells.
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However, Lord Justice Underhill dismissed the claims, since the only available evidence was an article published online.
“The evidence before the judge was an online news report. It is unverified and is no more than anecdotal evidence that Kenya had breached assurances in respect of another person,” he ruled.
The scandal led to the sacking of several Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) who orchestrated the scandal.
Among the companies that had financed the fuel and lost billions in the scandal include KCB and PTA banks, Fortis Bank of Netherlands, Glencore Energy UK Limited and Emirates National Oil Corporation (ENOC) of Singapore.
Mr Devani, once extradited, will be held at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison.
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