Politics and policy
Mr Jeremiah Kiereini has traded stocks worth Sh1.2 billion in the past four months. PHOTO | FILE
By VICTOR JUMA, vjuma@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday got the court order as part of its effort to recover Sh195.7 million that Mr Kiereini allegedly received fraudulently during his long tenure as a chairman of motor dealer CMC.
- CMA said it had noticed aggressive selling of Mr Kiereini’s portfolio in Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms, interpreting the move as an attempt to frustrate the cash recovery plan.
- Mr Kiereini’s lawyer, Njoroge Regeru, said his client was shocked by the CMA’s action which he vowed to fight in the courts.
Businessman Jeremiah Kiereini was Thursday preparing
for the opening of a new battlefront in defence of his
multi-billion-shilling empire after the capital markets watchdog
obtained orders stopping him from trading shares he owns in
public-listed firms.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday got the
court order as part of its effort to recover Sh195.7 million that Mr
Kiereini allegedly received fraudulently during his long tenure as a
chairman of motor dealer CMC.
“The temporary injunction restrains (Mr Kiereini)
from selling, transferring or in any manner dealing with any shares in
any listed company at the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Central
Depository and Settlement Corporation,” says the directive issued by a
Nairobi court.
The CMA said it sought the order after further
investigations into fraud allegations at CMC revealed that Mr Kiereini
illegally received up to £447,000 (Sh65.2 million) of the motor dealer’s
funds.
The capital markets regulator said it had noticed
aggressive selling of Mr Kiereini’s portfolio in Nairobi Securities
Exchange-listed firms, interpreting the move as an attempt to frustrate
the cash recovery plan.
READ:
The Business Daily’s analysis of share
trading at the NSE shows that Mr Kiereini has traded stocks worth Sh1.2
billion in the past four months, including minority stakes in East African Breweries and CFC Stanbic Holdings.
Mr Kiereini’s lawyer, Njoroge Regeru, said his client was shocked by the CMA’s action which he vowed to fight in the courts.
“My client is shocked by this development which is a
continuation of the CMA’s vendetta against Mr Kiereini that has been
going on for years,” Mr Regeru said.
“Instead of serving the person they have picked to
do battle with, the CMA has sought to publicise this matter through the
press and this is highly unprofessional. We will face them in court.”
Mr Regeru said that neither he nor Mr Kiereini had
been served with the ex-parte court order which they plan to challenge
in an escalation of the long-running legal battle against the regulator.
Mr Kiereini’s troubles with the CMA began in 2012
after a forensic audit by South Africa’s Webber Wentzel found that he
was part of a group of former CMC directors who siphoned millions of
shillings from the auto dealer into secret accounts in the financial
safe haven of Jersey.
The report also named former directors of CMC
Charles Njonjo and Martin Forster, who served as the company’s CEO for
33 years until his ouster in March 2011, as having benefited from the
scam.
The investigators said the Jersey accounts had
Sh250 million and were fed by illegal commissions charged on motor
vehicles sold by CMC.
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