Nairobi Billionaire Gives Up Ksh2B Property for Auction

Former Nakumatt CEO Atul Shah is set to lose his property to auctioneers after reportedly withdrawing a case he had filed to save the wealth.

A report by Business Daily on Monday, November 9, indicated that Shah made the move through his company, Collogne Investments, after seeking the approval of the registrar of the Court of Appeal.

The billionaire took the step in October 2020, which leaves his property exposed for auction by a bank seeking to recover billions it loaned Nakumatt Supermarket Chain.

Shah's change of heart comes barely months after the court allowed the bank to auction his property to recoup the investments in the tussle estimated to be over Ksh4.5 billion and involving numerous banks.

Kenyans shop at a local Nairobi supermarket.

Daily Nation

"In those circumstances, and the respondents not having written to object to the request, we allow the informal application and order that the application be and is hereby marked as withdrawn with costs to the respondents," ruled the judges.

Court documents also showed that the billionaire had used the company as collateral while securing the loan.

Nakumatt closed its doors in January 2020 with debts topping Ksh30 billion, Ksh18 billion of which were owed to suppliers with commercial institutions and banks demanding the rest.

The supermarket chain is said to have obtained the loans between 2013 and 2015 after it fell into financial woes.

The management of the retailer also found itself in the crosshairs of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over misappropriation of funds.

Shah, through court papers, argued that some of the lenders had only extended loans to the retailer while targeting his properties.

The property owned by Shah include shopping malls, office blocks as well as prime parcels of lands in Nairobi, Nakuru and Kisumu.

The Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi as pictured on November 18, 2019

Simon Kiragu

Kenyans.co.ke