{UAH} Edmund/Pojim/WBK: Daughter faces off with dad over Nairobi office building - Politics and policy

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Man-accuses-daughter-of-cheating-him-out-of-property/-/539546/3072972/-/wpff4yz/-/index.html

Daughter faces off with dad over Nairobi office building

A section of Fogo Gaucho. The restaurant is housed at the disputed Viking House. PHOTO | FILE  

By BRIAN WASUNA, bwasuna@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Thursday, February 11   2016 at  14:00

The father of a lawyer who fled Kenya in the wake of a fierce family feud over a prime building in Nairobi's Westlands has accused his daughter of cheating him into transferring to her most of his shares in the property.

Anil Mandevia reckons that his daughter, Akshata, lied to him that she needed a majority stake in a family company that owns Westlands-based Viking House to secure from Barclays Bank UK a mortgage she needed to buy property in Central London.

Mr Mandevia says in court papers that he learned his daughter's claim was merely aimed at taking full ownership of the family properties -Viking House Best of Kenya and Viking House shortly after he transferred 90 of his 99 shares to his daughter.

"I succumbed to the sweet talking from my daughter and was willing to give her 60 shares, which was still a majority shareholding in Viking House Best of Kenya, to hold in trust for me. This was purportedly to facilitate her mortgage although I have now learned that she did not require the majority shareholding in my company to secure a mortgage in the UK," Mr Mandevia says.

Mr Mandevia made the claims in response to a suit Akshata has filed against him and her brother, Aniket, over the multi-million shilling Nairobi property.

Akshata says in her affidavit that she was forced to flee to the UK after her brother threatened to kill her unless she relinquished her stake in Viking House.

She wants her brother compelled to hand over to her all the money she has failed to collect in rent and salaries as well as damages caused by the inconvenience of having to flee Kenya.

The prime building along Nairobi's Waiyaki Way houses prominent businesses, including high end Brazilian restaurant Fogo Gaucho and Acacia Studios.

Akshata says her father last year gave her 90 shares in the company, but her brother fraudulently transferred them to himself in February this year locking her out of the family business.

She also accuses her brother of using death threats against her to conceal the alleged share theft.

Akshata wants the court to declare the transfer null and void and to stop her father and brother Aniket from interfering with the shares.

Akshata says she and her husband, Imran Lalani, have reported the matter to police in the UK, and asked them to liaise with their Kenyan counterparts to prosecute her brother who she accuses of breaking into her office safe and taking out vital documents.

Mr Mandevia has denied the share fraud claims against his son, insisting instead that he reacquired his shareholding in Viking House after learning of his daughter's plan to take over all his assets.

He also denies claims by his daughter that she was an employee of Viking House as she has not provided any evidence that she worked for the family firm prior to her going into exile in the UK.

Akshata had claimed that she had not been paid her Viking House salary since June last year.

Mr Mandevia says his daughter instructed a law firm to prepare wills for him and his wife in which they purportedly left most of their property to her. It was after discovering the alleged plan that Mr Mandevia reacquired his shares and afterwards transferred them to his son Aniket.

"In the meantime, Akshata had personally instructed the law firm of Anjarwalla & Khanna to prepare legal instruments to have full control of each and every asset that was under my name.

"The purported irrevocable power of attorney and wills for both me and my wife were prepared purportedly under my instructions. These irrevocable powers of attorney gave my daughter full control of my assets and legal affairs while I am still alive!" Mr Mandevia says.

He adds that his son Aniket has been helping him manage the family businesses and had to abandon his law practice in Jamaica to come home and do so. Mr Mandevia says the entire dispute is simply a struggle for his assets.

Ms Akshata claims that her brother has previously assaulted her physically and that she "left the country with significant bruising on her legs and back as a result of Aniket's attacks.

Her father says in total he has remitted over £500,000 to his daughter and her husband, and that he has paid over Sh31 million for the building she has acquired on mortgage in Central London.

Daughter faces off with dad over Nairobi office building - Politics and policy

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Man-accuses-daughter-of-cheating-him-out-of-property/-/539546/3072972/-/wpff4yz/-/index.html

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