A company director was on Thursday charged before a Milimani court with conspiracy to defraud heirs of a deceased couple of more than Sh100 million estate.
Shahdadpuri Chanihyam Choithram, EPZ director, denied 13counts of fraud before senior principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi.
Choithram is charged alongside an advocate Philemon Morara Apiemi.
They allegedly defrauded the heirs of the estate of the late Suresh Lakhian and Narian Choithram Shahdadpuri of an export processing company.
Advocate Apiemi denied seven fraud charges on April 29, 2021 but Choithram was a no-show, prompting state prosecutor James Gachoka to apply for his arrest.
Defence lawyer Collins Ario opposed the plea for a warrant of arrest, saying the police know the residence of the accused, thus he “cannot abscond or jump bail”.
He said Choithram was unwell and had been advised by doctors attending to him to rest.
Gachoka proceeded to apply for his arrest and production in court by May 20, 2021. However, Ario undertook to present medical records to prove Choithram is unwell and to produce him in court.
Choithram and Apiemi are jointly are accused that that between October 16, 2016, and June 13, 2018, the two, purporting to be a director of Global Apparels Kenya (EPZ) Limited and an external advocate of the firm, conspired to defraud heirs of Lakhian and Narian, the directors (both deceased) of the company.
They are further accused of conspiracy to defraud the heirs of GAK(EPZ) Ltd of 250,000 ordinary shares worth Sh25 million and 75,000 preferential shares valued at Sh75 million. They are further accused of falsifying GAK(EPZ) Ltd resolutions, transfer deeds and statutory declarations to the benefit of Choithram.
The two are further charged with unlawfully making a transfer deed on June 18, 2018, purporting that the documents were genuine ones signed by Lakhian and Narian.
The court heard that on December 5 2016, Morara allegedly prepared the transfer deed, being the lawyer for GAK (EPZ) Ltd. He was also charged with making a Statutory Declaration dated September 6, 2017, purporting to have been sworn by Narian.
Apiemi is also accused of making another Statutory Declaration dated October 14, 2016, sworn by Suresh.
Apiemi denied presenting the forged written resolution, statutory declarations dated October 14, 2017, and the transfer deed dated December 5, 2016, to the Registrar of Companies at the Attorney General’s chambers.
“On July 13, 2019, he allegedly presented to the Registrar of Companies the forged statutory declaration dated June 7, 2017, and the transfer deed dated June 13, purporting they were genuine,” the court was told.
They are both out on a cash bail of Sh500,000.
