NAIROBI, Kenya, July 6 – Businessman Yagnesh Devani, who is the main suspect in the Sh7.6 billion Triton Oil scandal, is set to be arraigned in court following his arrest by officers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
According to the commission, Devani, who was apprehended at his office in Nairobi, will be charged afresh and is expected to take plea before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court.
“The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has, this morning, arrested the principal suspect in the Sh7.6 billion Triton Oil scandal, Mr. Yagnesh Devani. Devani, who was apprehended from his offices in Nairobi, is expected to take plea before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court,” the Commission said.
The 2008 oil scandal unraveled after the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) ordered an internal audit of oil stocks in its systems following complaints by oil marketers and financiers over a fuel shortage that hit the country.
The audit conducted in July 2009 by the African Centre for Open Governance showed that stocks amounting to 126.4 million liters were irregularly and illegally released to Triton Petroleum Limited between November 2007 and November 2008.
It also revealed that Triton was not entitled to the stocks, nor did financiers authorize the release as required under contractual arrangements.
Devani fled Kenya in 2008 after the oil scandal and came back into the country.
