By Wanja Waweru
A Nairobi court heard testimony on how 91-year-old lawyer Akram Mohamed Khan received Sh63 million to buy land but never paid the owner.
Chief magistrate Lucas Onyina of Milimani was informed that the seasoned attorney had not performed his duty properly.
Onyina learned that Khan kept the cash and the police were unable to find a single cent.
“We left with the DCI to pursue Khan to see whether the money would be recovered, Khan was arrested but nothing was recovered from him,” the court heard.
In 2020, the witness and another individual were chosen by the executor of the decedent’s will to serve as trustees.
The advocate is accused of stealing Sh63,700,000 in property that the late Sukhdev Singh Mangat had entrusted to him while working as his agent with others outside of court.
Between December 4, 2013, and September 16, 2014, he is accused of committing the crime at the Nairobi branch of Habib Bank Limited on Koinange Street.
In court, a power of attorney with the date July 20, 2020 was displayed to the magistrate.
According to information provided to the court, the trustee traveled to Kisumu to meet the deceased’s relatives and the late Mangat’s attorney David Otieno.
“When we got to Kisumu, we wanted to know the outstanding legal issues on the estate of the deceased. We were briefed on two plots of land that had been sold”, he told the court.
Surgit Sigh and Malkit Sigh paid 63 million for a single home.
Khan received a deposit of 10% of the total sum on March 15, 2014.
A sale agreement revealed that Khan received a payment of $6.3 million.
A lawyer working on behalf of the buyer, he continued, paid Khan at Habib Bank a balance of Sh56 million, which was then transferred to Guardian Bank.
Khan has refuted the accusation and is currently free on a Sh1 million bond.
The next hearing is scheduled for June 25, 2023.
