Uncovering the Truth: Deep Dive into the Mohammed Jaffer Fraud Case: Grain Bulk Handlers vs Atta Kenya
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Disturbing Allegations: The Mohammed Jaffer Fraud Case and its Implications for Kenya
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Breaking News: Updates on the Grain Bulk Handlers vs Atta Kenya Legal Dispute in the Jaffer Case
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Exclusive: Insider Insights into the Mohammed Jaffer Fraud Case: Grain Bulk Handlers vs Atta Kenya
The case of tycoon Mohammed Jaffer and his company Grain Bulk Handlers Limited is making headlines for defrauding an importer Sh730 million.
According to the court documents, Atta Kenya Limited is demanding the amount from GBHL for selling its 13,000 metric tonnes of wheat that was being stored at the silos in Mombasa.
The importer claims that between 2013 and 2014, it entered into various contracts with Louis Dreyfus Company Limited to purchase 38,500 metric tonnes of milling wheat, out of which 29,500 metric tonnes were shipped into Kenya through two vessels, Kiran Marmara and Clippers Bliss.
However, Atta Kenya fell into arrears of the contractual storage charges payable to GBHL and statutory customs charges paid to KpleRA after its bank failed to honour its financing obligation.
The company said it applied for a waiver of custom warehouse arrears, which was waived to 30% of the accrued rent.
Atta also engaged Grain Bulk intending to be allowed to organize an alternative financing of the storage charges.
However, despite the pending engagement, Grain Bulk engaged its lawyer and Beyond Auctioneers with a view of recovering the storage charges through auctioning.
Beyond Auctioneers placed a gazette notice claiming it would sell some of the 13,196 metric tonnes of assorted wheat.
On June 17, 2017, Beyond Auctioneers placed a notice on a newspaper inviting bids for the sale of the 13,196 metric tonnes.
The auction was purportedly held on June 17, 2017, where Grain Industries emerged as a winner.
After the purported auction, LDCI, the company that sold wheat to Atta Kenya, moved to court to stop the sale of some 6,964 metric tonnes of wheat, saying Atta Kenya had not paid USD 2,263,759.
Atta Kenya objected, saying it paid the full amount for the purchase of wheat from LDCI and other incurred charges by Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Ports Authority, and purchase of custom bags and custom warehouse charges.
However, during the pendency of the suit, Atta Kenya received yet another letter from Grain Bulk’s lawyer, saying the wheat had been sold to Grain Industries for Sh217,475,252.
Despite the letter being dated July 3, 2017, Atta Kenya said they came to know about the existence of the letter in early September of that year.
From the purported auction, the wheat was sold at only Sh217,475,251.
Atta Kenya was paid only Sh28,492,951 after Grain Bulk subtracted the storage charges and other various charges that had accrued.
“The plaintiff avers that it is entitled to the sum of Sh730,292,207 together with interest and lost profits,” Atta Kenya told the court.
While testifying in Grain Bulk Handler legal officer Joseph Mwela was at pains to explain why the company was in a rush to auction the wheat, despite undertaking from Atta Kenya to settle the accrued storage charges.
Atta Kenya’s lawyer Miller Bwire, while cross-examining Grain Bulk Handlers’ Mwela, questioned the relationship of shareholders of Grain Bulk Handlers and Grain Industries Limited.
They were appearing before Mombasa High Court Judge Florence Macharia.
“In the company registration forms of both Grain Bulk and Grain Industries, some names of the shareholders appear in both documents, are you able to explain,” Bwire questioned Mwela.
He also questioned why some 18 trucks belonging to Grain Industries were loaded with wheat from Grain Bulk premises before the purported day of the auction.
Mwela defended the company, saying Grain Industries are also their clients, who import grains through Grain Bulk Handlers.
Two witnesses of Grain Bulk Handlers also struggled to explain how the company arrived at the figure of Sh200 million for the wheat consignment.
A clear picture that was painted in court was Grain bulk handlers under the chairmanship of Mohammed Jaffer with a scheme to defraud Atta Kenya Ltd registered another company called Grain Industries selling the importer wheat at a away price to its own company.
The hearing of the case is expected to continue.
