Belgian tycoon to be enjoined in ARA’s Sh102m forfeiture case
Belgian Marc De Mesel and his girlfriend Felista Nyamathira Njoroge in an undated photo.
What you need to know:
- Justice Esther Maina yesterday allowed Mr Merc De Mesel to participate in the cash-freeze suit in order to prove the legitimacy of the funds he wired to Ms Felister Nyamathira Njoroge, in August last year.
- He claimed the student was his lover and the money, which has since been frozen by the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA), was a gift to her.
- He wants the money released to Ms Nyamathira so that she can continue enjoying “the fruits of being intimate” with him and secure a “good future lifestyle” for their child.
A Belgian millionaire at the centre of a Sh102 million transfer to a 21-year-old college student has received the court’s nod to participate in a forfeiture suit in which the state is seeking to seize the funds over claims that they are proceeds of crime.
Justice Esther Maina yesterday allowed Mr Merc De Mesel to participate in the cash-freeze suit in order to prove the legitimacy of the funds he wired to Ms Felister Nyamathira Njoroge, in August last year.
He claimed the student was his lover and the money, which has since been frozen by the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA), was a gift to her.
The Belgian had indicated in the declaration documents that Ms Njoroge, a Nairobi Technical Institute student, was “free to use the money to secure financial security for our future children”.
In freezing the cash, ARA claimed that the Belgian and Ms Nyamathira might be involved in an international money-laundering scheme.
“I find that the request by Mr Merc De Mesel to be enjoined in the proceedings is merited. The application is allowed. I grant him 14 days to file his pleadings in the matter,” ruled Justice Maina.
In court documents, Mr Mesel describes himself as an honest, hard-working man with no criminal record.
He wants the money released to Ms Nyamathira so that she can continue enjoying “the fruits of being intimate” with him and secure a “good future lifestyle” for their child.
“I hope that I will give more quality time, love and attention to my children; than I got for myself from my parents. Giving them a rich environment where they can learn a lot, by giving them the freedom to follow their curiosity instead of wanting them to learn what I like or become what I want,” Mr Mesel states.
He also claims in court papers that he has certificates of good conduct from Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Belgian police.
He adds that he made his money through hard work and good timing.
“I would like to confirm that I made my money through sheer hard work, grit and a knack for timing and I should be allowed to prove the same. It is therefore fair that my application be allowed to enable the court to interrogate whatever evidence and facts that I will place before it,” Mr De Messel argued in the application for joining the forfeiture suit.
The court’s ruling comes amid confusion on the identity of the recipient of the funds after two women emerged claiming to be Felister Nyamathira. DCI is investigating the matter with the aim of identifying the actual recipient.
Recently, Justice Maina directed the lawyers representing the two women to surrender them to ARA offices so that they can be escorted to the DCI for identification.
The case will be mentioned on November 9.
