Victims of an alleged Sh1.5 billion greenhouses scam have asked the court to suspend forfeiture proceedings facing the firm’s director Peter Wangai.
Three women who claimed they were tricked into investing in a fake greenhouse venture by Goldenscape Group said they want to be allowed to take part in proceedings filed by the Assets Recovery Agency in June 2021.
They claim that if the forfeiture order is granted in favour of the agency, with respect to all assets, they will suffer serious injustice of having their legally acquired interest doused without any further remedy.
The women are Hannah Gathoni Njeri, Fidelis Njeri Mbugua and Annah Wambui Kairu.
The agency filed the case and obtained an order preserving 16 parcels of land some located in Ngong and Marmanet, North Rumuruti and Ndurumo in Laikipia.
The court also preserved motor vehicles and other properties.
Investigations into the matter started in June 2020 after the agency received information over a suspected case of defrauding members of the public by Wangai and his firms.
The allegations included racketeering, obtaining money by false pretences and money laundering.
Wangai, according to the agency, would receive funds from members of the public and later transfer them to bank accounts belonging to his business entities.
But the three ladies who claim they are victims of the fraud orchestrated by Wangai argue that they were not aware of the preservation orders issued by the court on June 15, 2021 and the ongoing forfeiture proceedings.
They said the forfeiture orders if granted will affect them as they have cases in the lower court for recovery of their money.
“It is not in dispute that the subject assets were acquired from monies obtained from defrauding members of the public.
"However, the agency seeks an order to forfeit the assets to the state in entirety without any consideration whatsoever of the aggrieved victims particularly the interested parties,” they claim.
In an affidavit Kairu says they invested in the business venture in 2017 believing it was a legal and lawful venture.
“For each investment, contracts were duly executed and invoices and receipts were issued accordingly thus they had no reason to doubt the legality of the venture,” the trio said.
But come 2020, the firm and its director according to the investors defaulted in depositing the return on investment as per the contracts.
The breach necessitated the filing of their respective suits at the chief magistrates court in Milimani, for breach of contract.
The application for joinder was certified as urgent and the matter will be heard on September 20.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
