NBK boss Hassan denies part in Sh100bn fraud

Embattled National Bank of Kenya (NBK) Chairman Mohammed Hassan today asked the High Court to quash allegations implicating him in a Sh100 billion money laundering scheme.

Mr Hassan told Nairobi High Court Judge Grace Nzioka that he has been unfairly linked to the alleged fraud at Bluebird Aviation Ltd, Kenya’s largest chartered flight operator.

Through Senior Counsel Fred Ojiambo, Mr Hassan said that the allegations against him are made in gross violation of his rights.

Mr Hassan told the court that Bluebird Aviation’s founding shareholder Yussuf Abdi Adan and his witnesses disparaged his image and that of his family by linking him to fraudulent transfer of huge amounts of money to secret accounts.

“The said scandalous assertions have caused Mr Hassan and his family untold mental anguish and exposed him to great disrepute in the business community and the public,” Mr Ojiambo submitted.

ABSOLVE
Mr Hassan has accused Bluebird Aviation and Mr Yussuf of scandalising him without proof that he aided three former directors of the airline to swindle the firm’s Sh100 billion.

He was accused of facilitating Hussein Ahmed Farah, Hussein Unshur Mohammed and Mohammed Abdikadir Adan to transfer approximately between $750 million (Sh76 billion) and $1 billion of Bluebird Aviation’s money to their personal investments.

The three co-directors at the aviation firm are named as defendants in the case.

They are accused of using the money to buy shares in local and foreign companies besides purchasing properties.

Mr Hassan wants the court to expunge from its records the allegations against him.

FRAUD
But Mr Yussuf and Bluebird Aviation opposed his application stating that the allegations they had raised against Mr Hassan are factual and core to their case.

Through Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi, Bluebird Aviation and Mr Yussuf accused Mr Hassan of committing fraud, which resulted in three co-directors unfairly transferring billions of shillings to secret accounts.

Mr Abdullahi told the court that Mr Hassan worked with the three when they opened secret accounts at Dyer & Blair Investment Bank to move the money without the knowledge of their co-shareholder at Bluebird Aviation.

The senior counsel also told Justice Nzioka that she has no jurisdiction to expunge from court records the allegations raised against Mr Hassan on grounds that Mr Hassan is not party to the suit.

“He has sought to be enjoined as an interested party. If he is man enough, he should have asked to be enjoined as a defendant,” Mr Abdullahi said.

Mr Hassan was Dyer & Blair’s executive director between 2003 and 2006 and was previously the bank’s general manager.