W.E. Tilley’s landlord in Kisumu has advertised the fish firm’s machinery and equipment for sale, seeking to recover rent.
The auction was announced after Justice Stephen Kibunja rejected W.E. Tilley’s argument that the High Court had frozen all its assets in connection with Imperial Bank’s collapse.
The assets to be auctioned include computers, CCTV cameras, freezers, diesel pumps, gas cylinders, a water treatment plant, transformers, generators and other equipment worth millions of shillings.
Court documents show that W.E. Tilley received bulk payments in a US dollar account on instructions from deceased Imperial Bank managing director Abdulmalek Janmohammed.
The shadowy fish processor was also named among firms that used collapsed Charterhouse Bank to launder billions of shillings.
One of the companies at the centre of Imperial Bank’s collapse, W.E. Tilley, is set to lose its fish processing plant in Kisumu to auctioneers for failing to pay rent arrears worth millions of shillings.
Victoria Distributors Limited, W.E. Tilley’s landlord in Kisumu, has advertised the fish firm’s machinery and equipment for sale, seeking to recover rent.
The auction was announced after Justice Stephen Kibunja rejected W.E. Tilley’s argument that the High Court had frozen all its assets in connection with Imperial Bank’s collapse.
Justice Fred Ochieng had in October 2015 frozen a number of assets and bank accounts owned by W.E. Tilley as well as those belonging to a network of 19 other companies and businessmen that were allegedly used as conduits to siphon Sh44.9 billion from Imperial Bank.
Justice Kibunja found that the Kisumu processing plant was not listed among W.E. Tilley’s assets that were frozen in the Nairobi suit.
“The Kisumu Municipality/Block 3/123, where the properties proclaimed by Nyaluoyo Auctioneers on instructions of Victoria Distributors Limited on the 14th May 2016, is not among the properties covered in the Nairobi High Court,” Justice Kibunja ruled.
VIEWING OF ASSETS
Victoria Distributors has now hired Nyaluoyo Auctioneers to auction the fish firm’s assets that include computers, CCTV cameras, freezers, diesel pumps, gas cylinders, a water treatment plant, transformers, generators and other equipment worth millions of shillings.
The auctioneer has also listed 31 Mitsubishi lorries for sale by public auction.
Viewing of the assets started yesterday and the auction begins today at the fish processing plant along Sabuni Road in Kisumu’s Industrial Area.
W.W. Tilley had filed the suit in May last year and obtained a temporary order barring the sale of its Kisumu assets.
But Justice Kibunja on February 8 lifted the temporary order, allowing the fish processor’s landlord to proceed with plans to recover the unpaid rent.
The fish firm argued that the planned auction would be in contravention of Justice Ochieng’s orders, and that it would have no recourse if Justice Kibunja did not rule in its favour.
“The defendants are only seeking to do what the law entitles a landlord to do where a tenant is in arrears of rent. In view of the foregoing, the court finds that W.E. Tilley have not established a prima facie case at this stage for temporary injunctive orders to issue,” the judge added.
Court documents show that W.E. Tilley received bulk payments in a US dollar account on instructions from deceased Imperial Bank managing director Abdulmalek Janmohammed.
The fish firm would then transfer the funds to another account in the bank where the dollars would be converted into Kenya shillings before being transferred to accounts of other companies linked to Mr Janmohammed, W.E. Tilley and its directors.
A forensic audit of the collapsed bank found that the money would be paid in instalments of between Sh10 million and Sh100 million every week.
Imperial Bank’s shareholders had initially indicated that W.E. Tilley was willing to refund Sh10 billion it received irregularly from the collapsed lender.
But the fish firm has since denied the claims, arguing that it was tricked into admitting the debt.
"LETTER OF COMFORT"
W.E. Tilley claims in court papers that Imperial Bank’s directors tricked it into writing a letter to the CBK — three days before Imperial Bank was placed under receivership — in which it admitted to receiving Sh10 billion and expressed willingness to refund the colossal amount.
The fish processor says Imperial Bank’s directors only mentioned that it would be a “letter of comfort” to the Central Bank of Kenya, which had begun an in-depth investigation into the bank.
Justice Kibunja added that the order issued in the Nairobi High Court only barred W.E. Tilley and other 19 firms and businessmen from transferring their assets, but did not stop distressed landlords and other creditors from exercising their rights to recover debts.
W.E. Tilley’s suit at the Kisumu court will now proceed to hearing without any temporary orders barring attachment of its Kisumu assets.
W.E. Tilley is owned by one family with eight members listed as directors. Zulfikar, Nasir, Nargis, Nadir, Firoz, Salim, Irfan and Nashiv Jessa have also, in their personal capacities, been listed as respondents in the Nairobi suit that is seeking to recover Sh44.9 billion.
Suit papers say Zulfikar’s name was also used to operate a fictitious account at Imperial Bank that received Sh1.1 billion by the time of Mr Janmohammed’s death.
The shadowy fish processor was also named among firms that used collapsed Charterhouse Bank to launder billions of shillings.
Other firms entangled in the Imperial Bank scam and in which the Jessa family has interests are Primecatch Exports, Mara Fish Packers, J Fish Limited, Victorian Delight, Ruby Red Limited, Value Pak Foods, From Eden Limited, Aqualite Limited, Marmo Granito Mines from Tanzania, Uganda’s Marmo Marbles and Fishways Limited.
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