Development Bank executives face arrest in land fraud

Development Bank of Kenya Ltd is seeking court protection from prosecution after lending Sh250 million to a petroleum dealer who used a fraudulently acquired land title deed to borrow the money then defaulted.

The bank says it has learnt that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is set to arrest and charge its executives for forgery and obtaining a land title deed by false pretence. The bank moved to auction the 66,862 acre Giriama Ranch after Riva Oils Company Ltd used the ranch’s land as security for the loan and defaulted, prompting the sale which was stopped by the court. The dispute took a different turn after the DPP started investigations into the alleged land deed forgery, shifting focus to the state-owned lender. “...if the petitioner’s officers were to be arrested before the hearing and determination of the application herein, the petitioner stands to suffer irreparable loss, loss of repute and image as a banking institution,” says the bank.

The lender alleges that Giriama Ranch accepted responsibility and even sought time to sale part of the land to settle the debt but was unable to find a buyer.

The bank blames Ganze Constituency MP, Owen Yaa Baya, for its woes saying that he was pushing the DPP to prosecute it.

The lender says that Mr Baya is also behind three suits filed by Giriama Ranch challenging the auction. In the civil suits, the ranch says it has never applied for a loan using the premises as security, adding that it only learnt of the loan after the land was advertised for auction.

Ranch directors denied any business with Riva Oils Company.