Politics and policy
Kenya Airways Boeing 777-300ER launched last year. President Uhuru
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NATION MEDIA GROUP
By BRIAN WASUNA
In Summary
Two Kenyan tycoons have extended a bitter dispute
over a prime parcel of land in London worth £1 million (Sh145 million)
to the Nairobi High Court.
Former Charterhouse Bank boss Sanjay Shah has asked the
court to compel BTB Insurance boss Kamlesh Bid to pay him £326,000 (Sh47
million), which he claims he was awarded by the Chancery Division of
UK’s High Court as costs of the suit he allegedly won in the London
case.
Mr Bid moved to the UK court in 2009 on behalf of
his firm Tecof International, which is registered in that country,
arguing that Mr Shah had unlawfully sold the prime property on 138
Kingsland Road in London.
He added that the land had been transferred to Mr
Shah’s Town Castle, a company registered in the Bahamas, to hold on
behalf of Town Castle. Mr Shah claimed that the transfer was an outright
sale, and that his company was not at fault for re-selling it in April
2000.
Both firms have since been deregistered in their
respective countries, after they admitted to keeping the sale of the
land off the record to avoid tax deductions by the UK authorities. Mr
Bid said in the UK suit papers that the transfer of the land to Town
Castle was meant to keep Tecof from its legitimate creditors.
Lady Justice Jacqueline Kamau has ordered that the
two parties argue the case through written arguments, which they are to
file by Thursday. They will appear before her on October 29 to highlight
the crucial parts of their pleadings and then await a judgment date.
Mr Shah now wants the Nairobi court to issue orders
compelling Mr Bid to pay the £326,000 to him. He said despite the money
being awarded to him by a court in a different country, the Kenyan
court has the jurisdiction to issue the orders he is seeking.
“The defendants have no known assets in the United
Kingdom, as such the judgment and consequential orders of the Chancery
Division cannot be enforced in the UK,” said Mr Shah.
While Mr Shah contends that Mr Justice Robin
Knowles awarded him the money when he threw out the suit, Mr Bid insists
that the case is still ongoing hence he cannot pay the sum until the
matter is determined. He insists that the suit he lodged in the UK has
not yet been given a final determination, so Mr Shah cannot be granted
the orders he has sought in the Nairobi court.
Mr Bid’s brother, Dilesh, who was also enjoined in
the suit said in response that the matter was not concluded hence the
suit against them was lodged prematurely
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