The Capital Markets Tribunal has extended orders barring industry regulator from probing nine senior officials of Kakuzi, pending a ruling on whether minority shareholders of the agricultural firm will be allowed to participate in the proceedings.
The tribunal directed the parties to maintain the status quo as ordered in a ruling delivered on September 18, pending a ruling on the application by Steven Kimani, Daniel Komotho and a group calling itself minority shareholders.
The nine officials of the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm led by managing director Christopher John Flowers went to the tribunal after they were served with show-cause letters over accusations of forming companies and approving payments totalling millions of shillings from Kakuzi to these entities without disclosing their interests.
The officials have denied the allegations and stated that the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) misrepresented the relationships between them and the entities related to Kakuzi, hence arrived at a wrong decision.
“In the meantime, parties to maintain the status quo as previously ordered in the ruling of 18th September 2023,” the Tribunal chaired by Paul Lilan ruled.
Mr Kimani and Mr Kimotho have said they have a stake in the firm and that the officials withheld some information that would aid in the determination of the case.
“There are serious issues and facts which have been withheld by the appellants herein in the instant suit, which issues and facts can wholly and conclusively be determined by enjoining the applicant herein as a party to this suit,” the two urge in the application.
The duo said they are apprehensive the company has been using the entities to carry out dealings and transactions amounting to transfer pricing.
Other officials named in the appeal are Nicholas Ng’ang’a, Graham Harold Mclean, Andrew Ndegwa Njoroge, Ketan R. Shah, Daniel Ndonye, Stephen Waruhiu, John Kimani and Benjamin Okiring.
