The tycoon behind Sh7.6bn oil scandal

• Triton’s Devani is a flashy big spender who hobnobs with Kenya’s high and mighty

The man whose extradition is being sought by the Government in connection with the Sh7.6 billion oil scandal is a 43-year-old businessman whose ambition was to join the elite club of the richest people in the world.

Mr Yagnesh Devani (second right) told friends that he aspired to emulate the achievements of the Reliance brothers, an Indian family with interest in petrochemical industries under the trading name Reliance Industries, with a fortune estimated to be $49 billion (about Sh3.7 trillion).

But on Tuesday, Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi said the Government had sought Interpol’s help to have Mr Devani, together with other directors of Triton Petroleum Company arrested over the scandal.

Accountancy firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers had been contracted to carry out a forensic audit to establish the scope of the fraud.

Mr Devani has a reputation as a shrewd businessman who hobnobbed with the high and mighty in the political and business circles.

But close friends said his main firm suddenly ran into problems and was placed in receivership even as he sought to be among the world’s who-is-who in business.

The father of one lives lavishly, is outgoing, but is also said to be very secretive in his business deals. None of the other directors had details of the company’s financial operations.

He savoured the good things in life, from designer suits to top-of-the-range vehicles. He also loved to throw lavish parties in top-notch city hotels.

Close friends said he had a fleet of expensive vehicles, among them a Mercedes S600, whose current market value is in the range of Sh24 million and 30 million, an Audi worth about Sh18 million, a Range Rover Sport, and a Toyota Lexus, among a fleet of close to 10 vehicles.

But this was not all; more cars, his close associates said, lay in a London house estimated to be worth about five million pounds (Sh550 million). He visited UK occasionally on holiday to enjoy the fruits of his labour.

A story is told of how Mr Devani in 2007 flew in guests from the UK and India to celebrate his wife’s 40th birthday.

All the guests flew first class and on the eve of the party, Mr Devani chartered a plane to bring in a top singer from India to perform alongside a top UK jazz band. About six foreigners mainly from UK, handled the entertainment agenda.

Hairdressers for the occasion came in from UK and the United Arab Emirates. Some special guests were presented with classy Rolex watches.

The three-day party, “rumoured to have cost upwards of Sh300 million”, was partially held on a special hired dhow as the Tamarind one in Mombasa was considered to be too small for the 200 visitors who dined as they sailed. The Tamarind dhow carried the food.

The associate said Mr Devani could have been aping Mr Mukesh Ambani, one of the Reliance brothers, who is said to have given his wife a Sh4.5 billion Airbus 319 with entertainment cabins, a sky bar and fancy showers as a birthday gift, saying, “it matters little to me whether my personal fortunes are measured in billions or millions”.

Reliance Industries put a bid jointly with Triton to buy a 50 per cent stake at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries, but they were beaten to it by a Libyan firm.

It was the only Indian firm to feature in the Forbes 100 most respected companies in September 2008. Mr Devani owns a five-storey house in Mombasa’s posh Nyali estate.

Because of the size of the house, the businessman is embroiled in a row with a Cabinet minister who wants it demolished because it blocks her the breeze and view of the Indian Ocean. He also owns a big house in Nairobi’s leafy suburbs of Lavington.