A city business tycoon is reeling under the burden of nine cases that are all related to fraud and forgery, some of which have been dragging in court since 2007.
On Wednesday, the businessman Mohan Galot, who owns London Distillers, situated along Mombasa road appeared before City Court for the hearing of the nine charges of forgery, and uttering false documents.
The businessman is facing the criminal charges in a dispute over the control of multi billion shillings businesses.
But as has been the trend whenever the case comes up for hearing, it was postponed to March 2.
City Court Chief Magistrate Roseline Oganyo put off the matter to next month after the tycoon sought to have the state counsel prosecuting it to recuse herself. The tycoon also claimed that he has commenced efforts to have the case settled out of court.
But the prosecutor Mrs Njeri Gichuki opposed the application by the businessman saying that the move is an attempt to delay the trial for the long-drawn case.
Mrs Gichuki told the court that Galot has always used various tricks to frustrate the commencement of hearing of the case.
“Your honor, it has now become norm for the accused to come up with all sorts of tricks, including flimsy excuses to frustrate the case from hearing the case. It is my prayer that we should commence the hearing and have it determined as fast as possible,” Mrs Gichuki told the court.
In the case Galot faces nine criminal charges of making a document without authority, uttering a false document and giving false information to persons employed in a public office.
He had been charged afresh in 2018 before Milimani Law Courts and later the matter transferred to city court for hearing and determination after High Court judge Luka Kimaru directed that the case before trial court commences immediately.
The charges against Galot were reinstated by the High court after the lower court In 2016 had terminated three cases of forgeries after the charges were found to be defective in 2016.
In his decision Kimaru ruled that the then chief Magistrate Daniel Ogemba now a high court judge erred in terminating the two cases against Galot and his wife Santosh.
Galot who runs a multi-million-shilling empire, has been in the corridors of justice for years fighting various court battles.
Currently he is facing three cases in court over fraud, forgery and tax evasion charges amounting to over Sh 2 billion.
At the centre of long-drawn-out legal battles pending in different courts against Galot eminates from fight with his nephews Pravin and Rajesh over the control of Galot Industries, Manchester Outfitters, King Woolen Mills, Mohan Meakin, London Distillers Kenya Ltd and MG Park.
The companies deal in real estate, shares, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage distillery, bottling and sale, as well as fabric and cloth making.
In the case pending at City Court Galot is accused that on January 18,2002 at an unknown place with intent to defraud and without lawful authority made false documents namely notification of change of directors and secretaries of King Woollen Mills Limited Company purporting it to be genuine documents made by the directors of King Woollen Mills Limited.
Galot is further accused that on the same day January 2002 at Sheria House Registrar of companies office in Nairobi knowingly uttered a false document namely notification of change of directors and secretaries of King Woollen Mills Limited company dated January 18, 2002 to the registrar of companies.
The prosecution further accused the tycoon that on March 28, 2002 at the Registrar of Companies, Sheria house, knowingly gave false information to the Registrar on a notification of change of directors and secretaries of the above company dated January 18, 2002 to the effect that the accused’s nephew Pravin Galot and Rajesh Galot being directors of the said company had resigned as directors on January 4,2001, a fact he knew to be false.
Galot also faced another charge that on or about May 18,2007 at an unknown place with intent to defraud and without lawful authority made a false document namely Annual Return for the year 2006 of King Woolen Mills Limited Company number 21676 purporting it to be genuine document made by the Directors of King Woolen Mills Limited.
He is out on Sh 1 million or a cash bail of Sh 500,000 which was granted on May 23, 2015 when he first pleaded to the charges.
Mohan has two other case which are pending in another court where he is charged together with his wife Santosh Galot, in which the couple has been claiming that Pravin Galot, nephew to them is not a director or shareholder of companies namely Galot industries limited and Kings Woolen Mills Limited.
Last year Galot and London Distillers Kenya was also charged with being involved in tax evasion amounting to Sh2 billion.
The Prosecution says that the distiller, which makes Kenya King, Napolean and Safari Cane, and its director devised a scheme of evading taxes, including excise duty on locally manufactured spirits, value-added tax and corporate tax.
KRA says that London Distillers was involved in a scheme of gross under-reporting of production and sales volumes and the purchase of packaging materials through associated companies.
One of the charges stated that the distiller purchased 272,989,752 bottles and the finished product volumes produced and omitted using the purchased bottles some 7,941,539 litres with an equivalent excise duty of Sh1.4 billion.
The tax evasion case is pending before Milimani Chief Magistrate Wendy Kagendo.
London Distillers tycoon Galot faces nine charges of forgery and uttering false documents
