In a shocking twist to one of Kenya’s largest corporate fraud cases, controversial billionaire and oil tycoon Yagnesh Devani has walked free.
Sixteen years after orchestrating a scheme to syphon millions from Kenya's oil reserves through Triton Petroleum, Devani no longer faces charges, with the courts declaring he has no case to answer.
The decision, delivered by Anti-Corruption Magistrate Harrison Barasa, followed an application by Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga to withdraw the case.
The ruling pointed to a lack of key testimonies and witnesses, including that of former Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi, and the death of critical witnesses, rendering the case virtually dead.
During the peak of the scandal peak in 2008, Murungi was Energy Minister, while Patrick Nyoike served as Permanent Secretary. Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), led by Managing Director George Okungu, enabled Triton to withdraw oil without full payment—an opening Devani allegedly exploited to illegally sell off oil reserves.
Despite their offices placing them around the circumstances of the Triton affair, these individuals did not testify, court records show.
Petrocity Energy Kenya’s General Manager, Peter Mecha was then KPC’s General Manager of Operations. As Operations boss at KPC, Mecha played an integral role, responsible for placing oil orders, monitoring the country’s reserves, and advising on fluctuating oil needs—essentially, the technical expert who would have detailed knowledge of the product's flow. His testimony appears not to have been called.
Triton, a licenced oil importer back in 2008, was allowed by the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) to collect oil without fully paying for it, and this is the loophole that Devani allegedly exploited to withdraw oil stored by KPC, selling it off and pocketing the proceeds.
Kiraitu, the then man in the government's driver's seat and considered a crucial witness in the case, the DPP said was unwilling to cooperate, significantly weakening the prosecution's position and leading to its collapse.
In the infamous saga, banks and oil companies backed Triton with financial guarantees, but as Devani sold the oil, he allegedly failed to settle his debts, plunging the companies into massive losses, amounting to around Sh 7.6 billion.
The Petroleum scandal sucked in a wide network of individuals and institutions from both within and outside government and exposed major weaknesses in Kenya’s energy sector.
Allowing the DPP his prayers on Monday, Magistrate Barasa noted that the prosecutors and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) could not be compelled to proceed with it, especially when key witnesses had become uncooperative.
On October 9, the DPP, represented by Senior Prosecution Counsel Elphas Ombati, made an oral application to terminate the case.
This request follows the DPP's earlier recommendation for prosecution after Devani's repatriation from the UK, where he had been on the run for 16 years.
"I urge this court to withdraw the case against the accused persons, as the prosecution has encountered difficulties in tracing witnesses," the prosecutor stated.
The defence lawyers did not oppose the DPP's application. Initially, the magistrate acknowledged the case's public interest and declined to drop the oral application by the DPP and required an affidavit to be filed before making a determination.
他强调，此案事关重大公众利益，没有充分理由不能撤诉。
一些法律专家，如肯尼亚高等法院的倡导者Alutalala Mukhwana，认为这是“国家完整性的悲剧性损失”。
“在公共服务中，有一种东西叫做永久继承，即使在60年代发生了一些事情，也必须有一些线索把那个和现在连起来，所以是o只有那些改变的人才是执政者，肯尼亚人处于失败的一方，这是不可能的。标准的．
In his affidavit seeking to drop the case, the DPP outlined several reasons for withdrawal, including the deaths of some witnesses and Kiraitu's reluctance to testify.
The DPP tendered a letter in court between EACC and Kiraitu here the former Energy Minister declined to testify in the corruption case against Devani, contributing to the collapse of the Multi-billion oil scandal.
基拉伊图表示，他不会出席庭审，13年前他曾在共同被告德瓦尼的案件中作证。
他强调，“我支持追求正义，但恕我直言，我不认为这是一个合理的要求。”我十多年前就提供了证据！他们去哪儿了？为什么过了这么久还要传唤我进行盘问呢？”
Kiraitu进一步声称：“作为一名证人，我有权得到公平对待，并在没有不当拖延的情况下提供证据。因此，我不能再出席此案了。”
据Kiraitu说，检察官应强烈反对召回的请求，因为它似乎滥用法庭程序，目的是拖延案件的结案。
此外，寻找主要申诉人阿联酋航空首席执行官的努力已证明是徒劳的，唯一可获得的资料表明他已迁往新加坡。
裁判官说，从宣誓书来看，作为案件调查机构的廉政公署就撤回申请进行了适当的咨询。
In his decision, the magistrate took into account the DPP's submissions, which indicated that they lacked sufficient evidence to sustain the case.
Citing Article 157(8) of the Constitution, which requires the DPP to consider public interest and the administration of justice, Barasa acknowledged the need to prevent abuse of the legal process.
最终，地方法官根据《刑事诉讼法》第87(a)条批准了这一申请，这意味着尽管Devani目前被无罪释放，但如果出现新的证据，他将来仍可能面临起诉。
“在这个节骨眼上，这个法庭继续下去是荒谬的。我们将迫使这些机构在他们明确表示缺乏足够证据的情况下继续审理案件。”
治安法官说，他没有发现令人信服的理由撤回此案。
“因此，我允许申请，并根据刑事诉讼法第87a条开始释放被告，”巴萨拉裁定。
法院还下令向他退还500万先令的保释金。
今年7月，道德和反腐败委员会（EACC）的侦探根据20年前发生的石油骗局的审判建议逮捕了Devani，随后他被起诉。
2008年的石油丑闻浮出水面，当时肯尼亚管道公司（KPC）下令对石油库存进行内部审计，原因是石油营销人员和金融家抱怨全国范围内的燃料短缺。
2009年7月，非洲开放治理中心进行的一项审计显示，在2007年11月至2008年11月期间，有1.264亿升石油被不定期和非法地运往Triton石油有限公司。
审计表明，Triton无权获得这些股票，而且根据合同安排，这些股票也没有得到出资人的授权。
在2008年逃离肯尼亚后，德瓦尼于2009年9月被发出逮捕令，促使肯尼亚政府启动引渡程序，将他从英国带回来。
这甚至是在Devani在国外对他返回肯尼亚提出质疑之后，他试图避免面对针对他和他的共同被告的多起刑事案件。
英国上诉法院于2020年5月7日作出判决，驳回了内政大臣对Yagnesh Mohanlal Devani (2020) EWCA Civ 612案中他对引渡的所有质疑。
经过16年的逃亡，Devani于2024年1月23日被引渡到肯尼亚，并在Milimani刑事法庭与Triton一起被指控犯有诈骗罪，金额达15亿先令。
在腐败案中，Devani和Triton石油有限公司被指控欺诈释放1.26亿升石油，违反了与阿联酋国家石油公司（新加坡）有限公司的抵押融资协议。
德瓦尼面临11项欺诈罪名，包括串谋欺诈、以虚假借口取得财物，以及欺诈性处置抵押物品。
其中一项关键指控是，2008年9月5日，在担任Triton Petroleum董事总经理期间，Devani等人未经阿联酋国家石油公司（Emirates National Oil Company）的同意，非法向Total Kenya Limited出售了13,054,850立方米柴油，价值约10,146,888.36美元和32,017,783.66先令。
在2003年至2005年期间担任检察官的前公诉署署长兼高级律师菲利普·穆尔戈表示，此案仍有可能得到一些进展。
“检控覆核是一项持续的工作；在某种程度上，可能会有证据，许多年后情况可能会改变。”
“如果确实有公共资金的损失，没有什么可以阻止公共机构提出索赔，”穆尔戈尔说。
负责石油储存和运输的国有实体肯尼亚管道公司（Kenya Pipeline）受到了密切关注，因为该公司当时的高管允许Triton在没有全额付款的情况下提取和出售石油。这些松懈的内部控制和一些官员的勾结使得德瓦尼获得并出售第三方拥有的石油，导致数十亿美元的损失。
由于供应变得不稳定，这一丑闻导致当地油价飙升，消费者和行业都受到了影响。肯尼亚的能源部门经历了一段动荡时期，由于燃料价格影响了运输、生产和日常用品的成本，这产生了经济连锁反应。
包括肯尼亚商业银行（KCB）、嘉能可（Glencore）和富通银行（Fortis Bank）在内的几家银行和贷款机构已经为Triton的石油进口提供了财务担保或融资。当德瓦尼拖欠贷款时，这些银行遭受了巨大损失，因为他们融资的石油不再可供出售。
