Dubai Bank Directors acquitted of money laundering charges in Nairobi

A Nairobi court has acquitted three Dubai Bank Kenya Directors of money laundering charges

The three; Abdul Hafedh Zubedi, Ali Bashir Sheikh and Professor Wilson Hassan Nandwa were accused of stealing ksh12.6 million from the bank in 2015.

On Thursday, August 12, Milimani Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi acquitted them for lack of evidence.

In his length ruling, the magistrate said that the prosecution has not established any case against the three accused persons to enable him to put them on their defence.

“Since the prosecution has not established beyond a reasonable doubt a case against the three accused person, l, therefore, acquit them the two charges under section 210 of the Criminal Procedural Code, “ruled Magistrate Andayi.

The magistrate said that Investigation officers had all along wondered by the Director of Public Prosecutions had recommended the Prosecution of the three directors without any evidence.

The court noted that the investigating officer had not recommended the prosecution of the three directors since he had not found them breaching any offence.

But the officer had recommended the prosecution of Dubai Bank Chief Executive Officer Butt Binay and Operations Manager Dhiraj Kumar.

Butt and Kumar have never been charged with any offence as they are still at large.

Andayi further noted that all the eleven prosecutions who testified in the case cleared the three accused persons of being involved in any transactions of over Sh 12 .6 million to a foreign company in the matter.

The witnesses informed the court that Zubeidi, Sheikh and Nandwa were not in any way involved in the opening and transaction of the millions of cash to the foreign company know as Runway Entertainment limited.

The firm that had opened an account with Dubai bank is said to be a shell company that never existed in India.

The magistrate said that no information was tabled before court to show that truly Runway Entertainment was a ghost company in India.

The Prosecution failed to prove documents that could have shown how the three directors laundered the money using the ghost company as they have alleged.

The three directors were charged with two counts of money laundering amounting to over Sh 12 million.

They were alleged to have committed the offences between April 28, 2014, and September 14, 2014.

Following the DPP recommendation to charge the three directors of Dubai bank the bank was in August 2015 put under receivership.

The magistrate said that the bank itself was not represented.

Andayi advised the state that in a case where a bank has been put under receivership and wants to prosecute it they would have sought advice from the High court on the same.

The accused through Lawyer Cohen Amanya welcomed the decision to have their clients freed saying that the charges against the directors were trumped-up charges.

Amanya, however, requested the court to release them with a ksh3 million sureties they had deposited in court, which Andayi allowed.