Ex-Capital Markets Authority chairman charged with Sh102 million fraud
Nesbit, a former Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) chairman is accused of colluding with Boytorun Mehment Bulent and a company they co-own to defraud celebrated industrialist Shah while pretending they were in a position to change the same amount of cash into dollars.
Former Capital Markets Authority chairman Nicholas Alexander Nesbit is facing charges of conspiring with accomplices to defraud edible oil manufacturer Bidco Africa's founder and Chief Executive Officer Vimal Shah of Sh102 million.
Nesbit, a former Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) chairman is accused of colluding with Boytorun Mehment Bulent and a company they co-own to defraud celebrated industrialist Shah while pretending they were in a position to change the same into dollars.
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The suspect is facing charges of conspiracy to defraud contrary to section 317 of the Penal Code.
"On May 24, 2023, within Nairobi County, conspired to defraud Vimal Bhimji Shah of Sh102,437,500 by falsely pretending that you were in a position to convert the said money into US dollars, a fact you knew to be false," reads the charges against Nesbit.
They allegedly misrepresented their ability to supply US Dollars, at the height of the dollar exchange crisis caused by the fall of the Kenyan shilling against the dollar in mid-2023, defaulted on their agreement, and were evading authorities until their arrest two weeks ago.
Fled country
Boytorun, a British national of Turkish origin fled the country before the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) informed the Immigration Department to prevent him from leaving the country.
The court was informed that Boytorun fled the country and failed to appear in court. He had been released on a police cash bail of Sh200,000.
Nesbitt was scheduled to be charged last week alongside Boytorun who is his business partner but the same was delayed. They jointly operated a UK-based firm – Bee N Bee Limited which they used to defraud Shah.
Nesbitt's lawyers wanted the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to drop the fraud charges to have the matter settled in a civil court but this failed.
He denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Gilbert Shikwe after he was finally charged, and pleaded for lenient bond terms through lawyer Cliff Ombeta.
Ombeta told the court to consider that Nesbitt made an appearance in court after he was released by police and had no intention of escaping the court's jurisdiction.
The suspect was released on a bond of Sh3 million and an alternative cash bail of Sh1 million. The case will be mentioned on February 19 for a pre-trial.
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