Businessman Yagnesh Devani has moved to court seeking a status report on the affairs of Triton Petroleum Company, which was placed under receivership nearly 18 years ago.

In an urgent petition, Mr Devani says that the receivers and managers have failed to provide any updates or information to the company’s board of directors since it was placed under receivership in December 2008.

Mr Devani, the principal shareholder of the oil company, was on the run for more than 16 years until his extradition last year.

A criminal case against him and others collapsed last October after key witnesses failed to testify.

In his petition, the tycoon argues that the receiver managers have failed to comply with statutory obligations on behalf of the company.
Abdul Zahir Sheikh and Peter Kahii were appointed receiver and manager after the firm was placed under receivership by KCB Bank Kenya Ltd.

Read: Devani walks free as witnesses decline to testify in Sh7.6bn Triton scam

Other creditors included Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank Ltd.

“Consequently, the company’s board of directors has been unable to file statutory compliances as necessary, and further, the company’s assets are now totally unaccounted for,” he said in the application.

The High Court has directed that the case be mentioned on April 29 for further directions.

Mr Devani states that once the firm was placed under receivership, the receiver and manager took full control of the company and its assets, including warehouses, vehicles, stocks, offices, and even post office boxes.

Triton operated service stations in Nairobi, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, and Kampala, Uganda.

He says the receivers have failed to provide updated information on the company’s affairs to the board as required by law.

“The equitable jurisdiction to compel an account is not displaced or dismissed by the passage of time where the trustee has remained in possession of trust assets and has deliberately withheld information,” he said.

He added that shareholders have never been informed of the status of loan accounts, the composition of any loan balances, recoveries made, or the processes surrounding the disposal of company assets, including trust assets and outstanding securities.

Mr Devani now wants the court to allow him to file the case on behalf of the company so that he can seek full disclosure of all assets held at the time of receivership. These include books of accounts, recorded receivables, stocks, and all other assets, both direct and held in trust.

He is also seeking a report on all operations involving the company’s assets, including any turnover, transactions, or disposals since the firm was placed under receivership.

According to the tycoon, the receivers have never rendered full accounts to shareholders, disclosed how assets were disposed of or recoveries made, or provided transparency on expenses incurred during the receivership. He also claims there has been no meaningful regulatory intervention despite repeated complaints.

He is seeking court orders to compel a full forensic accounting of all assets, disposals, recoveries, and expenses over the 17 years, as well as an independent inquiry into losses and potential misconduct.

“Notwithstanding the acknowledged continued receivership and management, neither the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd defendants has issued any report as to the status of the receivership and management and assets, or the status of the loan accounts to the company for 18 years,” he said.

Mr Devani fled the country in 2008 after being accused of involvement in the theft of oil from the Kipevu Oil Storage facility in Mombasa.

He was arrested in London in 2011 and spent years fighting extradition to Kenya. His efforts failed in May 2020 when the Court of Appeal dismissed his case, paving the way for his return to face charges.

The Kenyan government secured his extradition on the strength of an international arrest warrant executed with the assistance of Interpol.

A forensic audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) following the scandal found that the Kenya Pipeline Company had irregularly released fuel in breach of the Collateral Financing Agreement governing such transactions.

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