The proprietor of Savannah Clinker company Benson Sande Ndeta (pictured) was yesterday arrested in connection with a Sh700 million fraud and forgery at the company.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in a letter to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) directed that Ndeta and his co-accused, Charles Hill Jnr, be charged with eight counts including forgery, conspiracy to commit a felony contrary to section 393 of the Penal Code; Conspiracy to defraud, and making a document without authority.
False pretences
The two are also to face charges of obtaining execution of a security by false pretenses, obtaining registration by false pretenses, obtaining credit by false pretenses and uttering false documents.
The DPP noted that there was no doubt that Ndeta and Hill Jr. not only irregularly and illegally signed the corporate guarantee documents in a manner that clearly amounted to a forgery, but also presented the said documents to Absa Bank, which relied on the forged documents to approve and release to them the facility sum of USD35 million. Hill Jr is an American and is currently based in the US’ State of Delaware.
“Upon charges, a warrant of arrest shall be issued and an extradition request shall be made to competent authority of the USA for the surrender of Charles Hill Jr from the USA to Kenya to face the said charges,” Senior prosecutor Jacinta Nyamosi wrote to the DCI in a letter dated November 25.
The DPP further directed that upon charges, a warrant of arrest be issued and an extradition request be made to the competent authority of the USA for the surrender of Hill Jr. from the USA to Kenya to face the said charges.
Specimen signature
“A further Mutual Legal Assistance request may be made for assistance in further investigations including to obtain Charles Hill Jr’s specimen signatures, handwritings for purposes of further forensic investigations, and the recording of notarized statements touching on the subject matter.”
Following the arrest of Ndeta, top Azimio leaders led by Kalonzo Musyoka and Eugene Wamalwa visited Muthaiga Police Station to seek for his release on bond.
According to the investigations by the DCI, the acquisition by Ndeta of the 4,500 in Savannah Cement resulted in directors Donald Mwaura Kiboro and John Gechanga becoming minority shareholders in Savannah Cement.
This led to boardroom wrangles and rivalry within the company as a result to which the two did not attend board meetings, a fact which made the confirmation of minutes and approval of board resolutions impossible.
The investigations found out that pursuant to an approval by the Board of Directors of Savannah Heights in a meeting held on November 16, 2017 and attended by the two directors but not Ndeta, Kiboro transferred 300 of his shares in Savannah Heights to Falcox Ventures Holdings LLC, represented by Hill Jr. for a consideration of Sh700 million. Initially, Savannah Cement was owned by a group of Kenyan and Chinese investors. Kenyan firm Savannah Heights owned 40 per cent while Chinese investors through Wanho International and Acme Wanji Investment owned 60 per cent of the cement maker.
Savannah Heights was owned by Ndeta (35 per cent), Gachanga (35 per cent) and Mwaura (30 per cent). The squabbles began in 2014 when the Chinese firms exited and sold their stake to Seruji, owned by Ndeta and saw him emerge as the majority shareholder in Savannah Cement.
“The purchaser defaulted in payment of the purchase price, whose last payment date was 2nd February 2018, as a result of which the share sale/purchase between Kiboro (seller) and Falcon Ventures Holdings LLC (the purchaser) fell through. There was thus no transfer of shares in favour of Charles Hills Jr,” the investigations files state.
In was further established that around 2017, the management of Savannah Cement through Ndeta, in a confidential information memorandum submitted to Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited applied for the financing of the Savannah Cement’s factory’s expansion project for a sum of USD 35 million.
The probe shows the bank through offer letters dated October 4, 2017 addressed to the Director of Savannah Cement agreed to finance the factory’s expansion project. The offer letters were to be executed by the directors/shareholders of the two corporate entities owning Savannah Cement; Savannah Heights and Seruji as guarantors to the facility
“Despite the foregoing, and the fact that Charles Hills Jr vas not lawfully authorised to transact any document on behalf of Savannah Heights, he fraudulently executed six security documents purporting himself as a Director/ Chairman of Savannah Heights offering corporate guarantee the loan facility of USD 35 million granted by Barclays to Savannah Cement,” the report further states. Ndeta’s company is the leading bidder in the pending buyout of Bamburi Cement company and had
