Who is Yagnesh Devani? The tycoon behind Kenya’s biggest fuel scandal

The news that tycoon Yagnesh Devani was on Tuesday morning arrested in Nairobi in connection with the 2008 Triton oil scandal is a welcome move to Kenya's anti-graft agency and detectives who have for years been fighting to have him face justice.

But who is Yagnesh Devani? He is the 59-year-old Indian-origin Kenyan oil tycoon and billionaire who was first arrested in May 2011 in what is known as the Triton Oil scandal which threatened oil supplies to Kenya nation.

The government had been desperate to have him back from the UK, but Devani had managed to defer his removal by making a second asylum application to remain.

Devani's Triton Petroleum Limited was given a tender by the state-owned Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) to supply oil in 2000. It is alleged that Triton was awarded this tender despite not having the requisite infrastructure and using KPC's facilities as Devani enjoyed good relations with senior politicians.

In 2008, Triton was accused of selling 126 million litres of oil to third parties without proper authorisation thus causing loss to the state and also defrauding the banks that were involved in the process.

India was Devani's first destination after he fled from Kenya in 2008. Top government officials followed him for discussions which did not prove successful. Devani then came to the United Kingdom, which is where the action shifted.

Extradition request

In May 2011, he was arrested based on Kenya's request for his extradition. In September 2014, the Westminster Magistrates' Court ordered his extradition, which was approved by the UK Home Secretary.

Devani filed an appeal at the high court on grounds that his human rights would be breached if were kept in a Kenyan prison, and that Kenya had failed to make out a prima facie case against him. But in December 2015, his appeal was dismissed paving the way for his removal.

However, in February 2016 he applied for asylum with the UK home office which was refused by the Home Secretary. The asylum application then went to the courts and it was in May 2020 that the high court ruled that Devani's extradition to Kenya would not breach his human rights. Devani then approached the UK Supreme Court, which refused permission to appeal in December 2020.

It thus took close to five years for his asylum application to conclude. On 16 January 2021, accompanied by two Kenyan officials, Devani was seated in a Kenyan Airways plane having been brought to the airport by officers from Scotland Yard. There were only a few minutes left for his flight to take off.

But not known to the Kenyan government, Devani's legal team had managed to get an order from a UK judge halting his extradition. That piece of paper was served to the two officers in the aircraft following which Devani was allowed to deboard.

ARREST OF THE KES.7.6B TRITON OIL SCAM ARCHITECT
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has, this morning, arrested the principal suspect in the Kes.7.6 billion Triton Oil scandal, Mr. Yagnesh Devani.

Devani, who was apprehended from his offices in Nairobi, is… pic.twitter.com/xOIKLjRKup

— EACC (@EACCKenya) August 6, 2024

It emerged that Devani had made a fresh (second) asylum application and till it concluded, he couldn't be removed from the UK.

After running from justice for 16 years, the long arm of the law finally caught up with the business tycoon who got extradited to Kenya from Britain, to be charged over the Sh1.5 billion Kipevu jet fuel scam.

Indicted

The tycoon was indicted over the irregular disposal of 451,572 metric tonnes of automated gas oil, jet fuel and premium motor spirit worth $9,019,630 (Sh1,470,199,690) that had been mortgaged by Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (KCB).

The arrest comes after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga made an application in court to separate Devani's case from that of other accused persons, who have been on trial for the past decade.

The DPP through senior principal prosecution counsel Eliphas Ombati said section 87(a) of the criminal procedure code provides for withdrawal by the prosecution at any stage before a judgment is made.

Ombati said Devani did not plead to the charges alongside his co-accused and 24 witnesses have testified in his absence.

"CR. No 1151 of 2009 is at an advanced stage and it is pending mention for filing of submissions by parties on case to answer," Ombati said.

The prosecutor said no prejudice will be occasioned to the other accused persons or even Devani and his firm if the matter is withdrawn.

Devani was charged on January 23, 2024, after being on the run for more than a decade and was freed after depositing Sh1 million cash bail in court.

As of today, Devani faces 11 counts including fraudulent disposition of mortgaged goods, conspiracy to defraud and obtaining money by false pretences.

One of the counts stated that with intent to defraud Emirates National Oil Company (Singapore) Limited, Triton disposed of 13,054.850 cubic meters valued at $10,446,888.36 (approximately Sh1.3 billion) and Sh32 million of the said fuel to Total Kenya Limited without the consent of the Singaporean firm, who was the mortgagee.

The charge sheet stated that he committed the offence on September 5, 2008, in Nairobi being the director of Triton, an allegation he committed with others before who have already been charged.