Kenyan-Asian business tycoon Devani remanded in multimillion-dollar Triton oil scandal

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – A local court in Kenya Wednesday approved the anti-graft commission's request to remand for 13 days Yagnesh Devani, an oil tycoon and founder of the Triton firm, who is charged with 11 corruption cases totaling approximately $53 million.

Devani, a well-known figure in the Kenyan-Asian business community, is accused of involving in a complex fraud scheme known as the Triton oil scandal, which allegedly defrauded several financial institutions and investors of millions of dollars.

Devani was brought before Nairobi's Chief Magistrate Thomas Nziuki, where an attorney representing the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) accused him of 11 corruption charges involving 7.6 billion shillings (about $53 million) and requested 13 days of physical remand.

The charges include conspiracy to defraud and obtain money under different pretenses, as well as fraudulently selling mortgaged oil owned by Emirates National Oil Company.

Though the oil tycoon pleaded not guilty to all these charges, the magistrate granted the anti-graft commission his physical remand for 13 days.

During the court proceedings, Chief Magistrate Nzioka said “I find it not appropriate at this moment to release the accused person on bonds when he has been brought under a warrant of arrest.”

The Triton oil scandal revolves around Triton Petroleum Company Limited, which was once owned by Devani and is accused of obtaining large loans from various lenders by falsifying inventory records and conducting fictitious oil import transactions.

These loans were then allegedly diverted for other purposes, causing lenders to suffer significant losses.

Devani was arrested on Tuesday after a lengthy investigation by Kenyan authorities and international partners at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport following his return from a foreign trip.