Businessman Yagnesh Devani Loses Extradition Appeal

Yagnesh Devani, oil tycoon and the former Triton boss who is the accused mastermind of the Sh7.6 billion  scandal, could be prosecuted in Kenya after a court in the United Kingdom allowed his extradition.

Devani  has been on the run since 2009 and has marshaled every resource at his disposal to fight extradition to Kenya, bringing the prospects of ending one of Kenya’s longest trials which were filed in court in 2011.

The case was heard at the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) after an appeal from the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in the UK.

Mr. Devani lost his appeal against the extradition at the Court of Appeal in a case described as one “with a complicated and unsatisfactory procedural history”.

The tycoon has been in and out of British courts since being accused of having a role in the Ksh7.6 billion Triton Petroleum Scandal that left investors to their devices after he released oil stock from the Kenya Pipeline Corporation’s (KPC) tankers without the requisite consent from the financiers.

In 2008, he had 96,000 tonnes of processed petroleum valued at Sh7.6 billion released to him without authority from financiers of the cargo.

The British Court of Appeal via Lord Justice Underhill last week dismissed Devani’s prayers seeking to stop his extradition to Kenya after he submitted that he stood no chance of a fair hearing and the possibility that he would end locked up in one of the country’s deplorable prisons.

Devani argued his point by giving the example of child trafficker Gilbert Deya who was extradited to Kenya in 2017 but a suitable prison for him wasn’t forthcoming.

He further argued that there were widespread cholera cases in Kenya in 2015 but the appellate court dismissed the argument ruling that no such cases had been reported at the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison where Devani would be held once extradited.

Kenya made its first extradition request for Mr. Devani in 2011, citing fraud. Two years later, the government made another request.

Mr. Devani challenged both requests, which ended up with drawn-out proceedings in a UK magistrate court.