A foreign exchange deal that promised Bidco Africa Chief Executive Vimal Shah $745,000 the day after he paid Sh102.4 million instead left him struggling to recover his money, a Nairobi court has heard.
Shah said the transaction was introduced to him by businessman Nicholas Alexander Nesbitt, a long-time friend whom he trusted because of their years of social and professional interaction.
He was testifying on Monday in a criminal case in which Nesbitt faces a charge of conspiracy to defraud. Nesbitt has denied the accusation and was released on a Sh500,000 cash bail.
The court heard that Nesbitt approached Shah in May 2023 with an offer to connect him to someone who could provide American dollars at a time when the currency was in short supply in Kenya.
Shah said the proposed arrangement was simple: he would send Kenya shillings and receive the corresponding amount in dollars the following day.
"He visited my home and said the source was reliable. We buy foreign currencies from banks regularly because we import raw materials," Shah told the court.
The Bidco boss said he had already completed several similar transactions in March and April that year, which also gave him confidence in the arrangement presented by Nesbitt.
Nesbitt subsequently introduced Shah to Mehemet Bulent Boytorum, a British-Turkish businessman and co-director of the then London-registered Bee N Bee Limited.
Bulent is also facing charges in the case but has not taken a plea. The court was told that he disappeared after being released on police bail last year.
Shah said Nesbitt described Bulent as a cryptocurrency expert who could facilitate the conversion of Kenya shillings into foreign currency using stablecoins and other digital assets.
On May 24, 2023, Shah transferred Sh102,437,500 to the Bee N Bee (K) Ltd account at Standard Chartered Bank.
In return, he expected to receive $745,000 based on an agreed exchange rate of Sh137.50 for every dollar.
The court heard that Bulent also operated another company, BNX Partners, which was engaged in similar transactions.
Shah said Nesbitt assured him that the arrangement was genuine and that there would be no delay in receiving the dollars.
"If you give the shillings today, your dollars are in tomorrow. And it's all legitimate," Shah told the court, recalling what Nesbitt had told him.
He said he did not question the transaction because of the confidence he had placed in Nesbitt, who had not only introduced him to Bulent but had also directed him to the bankers the parties were dealing with.
"I trusted him. He is the one who introduced Mr Bulent to me. He is the one who brought him to me. He also referred me to their bankers, which I confirmed they had been transacting with, and I believed him," the Bidco boss said.
Shah said his association with Nesbitt had developed over many years through both business and industry bodies, including the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) and the East African Business Council (EABC).
The parties later documented their arrangement in a Trade Finance Agreement signed on May 23, 2023.
But after Shah sent the Sh102.4 million, the expected dollars were not fully transferred, leaving him to pursue the recovery of the money.
He told the court that his efforts to get the funds back proved unsuccessful and that both Nesbitt and Bulent eventually started avoiding him.
As the dispute continued, Shah said communication between them was largely conducted through WhatsApp messages.
The matter was eventually taken to arbitration under a provision contained in the agreement. The arbitration ended with an award last year, which was subsequently adopted by the High Court.
The prosecution's case is that Nesbitt falsely represented that he had the ability to convert the shillings into dollars.
The court adjourned the hearing until November.
Bidco Africa is one of Kenya's largest privately owned manufacturers, with products ranging from edible oil and cooking fat to soap, detergent, baking powder and animal feeds.