Mithika Linturi faces arrest over Sh530m bank forgery claim

Meru Senator Mithika Linturi is seeking court protection against his impending arrest over claims he used forged signatures to secure a Sh530 million bank loan with properties of his estranged wife as collateral.

In a petition filed before the High Court on Friday, Mr Linturi and Emily Nkirote Buantai are seeking anticipatory bail.

Marianne Kitany, the estranged wife of Meru Senator, has accused Mr Linturi of forging signatures to secure the multimillion-shilling loan from Family Bank.

The Meru Senator reckons that the Director of Public Prosecution has recommended his arrest and prosecution for criminal offences linked to the loans, overdrafts and other credit facilities from the lender.

"The imminent arrest, charges and prosecution also relate to fraudulent change of directorship, shareholding and share capital of the Atticon ltd," he said in an affidavit.

Mr Linturi says he was alerted of his planned arrest by one of his staff after some documents were dropped at his office, among them a draft charge sheet containing 38 counts.

The charges, he said include giving false information, obtaining credits by false pretences, personation, abuse of office and fraudulently procuring the registration of charge documents.

The planned arrest comes in the middle of a vicious court battle pitting Ms Kitany against the Senator over the vast business empire that the couple built before their acrimonious break-up

Ms Kitany is a former chief of staff at Deputy President William Ruto’s office. Mr Linturi has denied that Ms Kitany has been his wife, claiming he had hosted her on compassionate grounds after she lost her job in 2017.

At the centre of the commercial and forgery dispute is Atticon Limited, a firm that Mr Linturi fully owned before ceding 50 percent shares to Baron Estates Ltd, which is associated with the estranged wife.

The ceding of ownership was in exchange for Baron Estates guaranteeing a Sh50 million loan that Mr Linturi intended to borrow at Family Bank.

Mr Linturi is, however, accused of fraudulently kicking out Baron Estates from ownership of Atticon and further increasing the loan secured using the Baron’s property to Sh530 million without its consent.

Documents filed in court identify Baron Estates’ signatories as Rodha Kitany and Collins Kipchumba Ngetich.

The forensic audit report filed in court indicates that Rodha Kitany’s signature was forged to secure loans of Sh100 million from Family Bank, another loan of Sh325.7 million, and a separate overdraft facility of Sh100 million using the properties of Baron Estates.

But the report indicates that Mr Linturi’s signature on the documents authorising these loans are genuine.

Sometime in August 2015, Baron Estates says, it was approached by Atticon emissaries to aid in the liquidity and workings of their firm.

The firm says it agreed to charge two of its properties to secure Sh50 million 12-month overdraft facility from Family Bank for consideration of 11,000 shares equivalent to 50 percent.

Mr Linturi was left with 50 percent shares, which he owned through Litany Investments Limited. Further, the two shareholders in April 2017 agreed to appoint two directors each to run the business. Emily Nkirote and Mr Linturi agreed to resign as directors to allow the new directors to take over.

But Mr Linturi is accused of breaching the agreement after declining to allow the new directors to take over, thereby single-handedly running the affairs of the firm, including the operation of bank accounts.

The frustrations allegedly led to the directors’ resignation, which he promptly accepted and re-appointed himself and Ms Nkirote as directors.

In October 2018, the ownership of Atticon was changed to Mr Linturi with 10,950 shares and Ms Nkirote with 50 shares.

In the meantime, the loan secured by the charged properties was enhanced to Sh530 million.