Billionaire businessman Yagnesh Devani will continue facing prosecution in four criminal cases linked to the Sh7.6 billion Triton Petroleum scandal after the High Court dismissed his bid to halt the proceedings.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Roselyne Aburili at the Milimani High Court, the judge rejected Devani's constitutional petition, in which he sought to have the criminal cases terminated. Devani had argued that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had abused constitutional powers and violated his rights by pursuing the charges.
Justice Aburili, however, found that Devani had failed to demonstrate any abuse of power by the DPP. The court further held that constitutional petitions cannot be used to avoid or delay ordinary criminal proceedings and that the issues raised should instead be determined by the trial court hearing the cases.
The ruling means that the prosecution over the alleged irregular loss of Sh7.6 billion involving the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) will proceed to full hearing.
The decision comes just a day after Devani secured a legal victory in a separate case. Milimani Chief Magistrate Zainab Abdul acquitted him and four co-accused persons over allegations involving the fraudulent loss of Sh1.9 billion at Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB).
In that case, the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient ledger evidence to prove the alleged financial loss, leading to the acquittal.
Source Attributed: Nation Newspaper