The Saudi prince’s company Arafco leased 100,000 acres at Galana, Kilifi County, to cultivate sugarcane. PHOTO | FILE
By VINCENT AGOYA
In Summary
- Prince Sultan claims that his majority shareholding of 900 out of 1000 shares of the Arafco Agriculture Integration Company were fraudulently transferred without his consent.
- The Saudi crown prince was to invest Sh21.6 billion while the local shareholders were to contribute some Sh30 million to the join project.
A Saudi prince has sued three Kenyans he accuses of
forging his signature and transferring ownership of a multi-billion
shilling food security company to themselves without his consent.
Prince Sultan Bin Nasser Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud claims in
court documents that his majority shareholding of 900 out of 1000 shares
of the Arafco Agriculture Integration Company were fraudulently
transferred without his consent.
The Kenyans are accused of using forged documents
to execute their illicit scheme that transfered Arafco’s shares to
Milestone Developers Limited with them as majority shareholders.
Prince Sultan says that being a foreign investor,
he teamed up with three local partners — Mohammed Koriow Nur (six per
cent), Mohammedulamin Mohamud (three per cent) and Mohammed Hirei Bare
Ahmed (one per cent) — who had a cumulative 10 per cent stake.
“When we checked at Sheria House we found that they
forged my signature to transfer the shares to themselves and that
currently is subject of investigation by the Directorate of Criminal
Investigations,” the prince says in an affidavit.
Court papers show that the wealthy Saudi crown
prince was to invest $216 million (Sh21.6 billion) while the local
shareholders were to contribute some $300,000 (Sh30 million) to the join
project.
Prince Sultan says that he appointed, a local
agent, Hassan Babakar Osman, to prepare a memorandum of articles of
association in 2010 with the objective of setting up an agricultural
investment in Kenya, partly financed by the Saudi government.
This, he says, was in line with the presidential
initiative “calling for international businessmen to invest in food
security by offering them land”.
Arafco, the Saudi prince’s company, went on to
lease 100,000 acres at Galana, Kilifi County, and paid Sh2 million to
State-owned Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC).
The 16-year lease to the Saudi-controlled entity to
cultivate sugarcane has also roped in former minister Fred Gumo, who
was then in charge of Regional Development and who helped with
“facilitating government approval of the project.”
The prince further states that he has been making
regular payments of rent to ADC, through his local agent, Mr Babakar,
and paying workers on the ground while his local partners “have been
busy changing shares.”
“I embarked on development of the leased land and
have so far cleared 2000 acres for setting up of a ranch in readiness
for the first phase of planting maize before embarking on the second
phase of sugarcane and later setting up of a sugar factory and had
initially employed 80 Kenyans.
I have invested US800,000 and I am waiting for the
Saudi and the Kenya governments to sign a food security agreement,”
Prince Sultan says.
Through lawyer David Okoyo Ondieki the plaintiff
says that changes to the company’s shareholding structure were made at
the Attorney-General’s chambers fraudulently.
“To change the company without the consent and
knowledge of the majority shareholder as shown in the memorandum and
articles of association is illegal,” the prince says. The plaintiff
reckons that when he asked Mr Mohamud, who had three per cent
shareholding, about the change of director and surrender of shares, he
denied knowledge of the same and swore an affidavit in court.
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