I did not steal Sh240 million from EABL — Former Director

A Cameroonian national accused of stealing Sh240 million from East African Breweries Ltd (EABL) maintains that he is innocent and claims he is being used as a scapegoat.

Aristide Brilliant Nkoumondo, who has been barred from leaving Kenya, is facing four counts of ‘theft by servant’, which carries a prison term of up to seven years if found guilty.

The Cameroonian, who allegedly committed the offence when he was the director of procurement at the giant brewer, was freed on a Sh3 million bond after being arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on June 18 en route to France.

The charge sheet reads: “On April 6, July 6, July 18 and October 18, 2011, jointly with others not before court, being an employee of East African Breweries, as a director of procurement, Aristide Nkoumondo stole Sh243,227,500 which came into his possession by virtue of his employment.” 

EABL charged that Nkoumondo allegedly sold 2,500 refrigerators to Frigorex, the suppliers who deposited the money in the account of RBS East Africa, a shell company registered in the Seychelles. The fridges were then, allegedly, leased back to EABL from Frigorex. 

The brewer adds that Nkoumondo tricked Frigorex into believing RBS East Africa belonged to the Royal Bank of Scotland and whose logo he had also allegedly forged to make the sale agreement documents appear genuine.

The brewer reportedly uses the Royal Bank of Scotland in such deals.

The alleged fraudulent transaction came to light in September 2013 when Frigorex was reconciling invoices with EABL. Frigorex allegedly raised a purchase agreement for the fridges which EABL was not aware of, leading to a probe.   The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions argued that he is a flight risk and Senior Principal Magistrate Grace Mumasi ordered Nkoumondo to deposit his passport with the authorities.

Nkoumondo says a UK court cleared him over the same accusations and now questions the motive behind lodging the same charges in a Kenyan court. 

He told The Nairobian: “You spent years building a career and reputation only for them (EABL) to throw the achievements in the trash.” His achievements, as listed on his LinkedIn page, includes centralising procurement for the entire group and implementing ‘category management’ to maximise cost reduction and improved service.

He says that in 2008, Diageo, a controlling shareholder of EABL, head-hunted him for the substantial docket that includes the purchase of raw materials for the Ruaraka-based brewery, Kenya Maltings in Industrial Area and Central Glass Industries which has since been sold off.   Nkoumondo, who denies being a millionaire, claims he was informed of the charges while in Cameroon after quitting employment in 2014.

“An emissary was sent explaining to me the accusations, which I responded to by denying in writing any financial impropriety. I was shocked to learn that EABL had filed a suit in a UK court which eventually threw out the case due to lack of sufficient evidence,” says the alumnus of Michigan State University, where he earned his MBA in finance and supply chain management. Prior to coming Kenya, Nkoumondo worked in the US for Colgate, Andersen Consulting and Accenture between 1996 and 2004; and Nestle in the UK from 2004 to 2008. He claims that EABL filed the fraud suit in the UK on the pretext that courts in Kenya were partial.

“My understanding is that they filed the case in the UK convinced that there would be no justice in Kenya,” states Nkoumondo. “But I am not worried about the outcome because I never stole the money,” Nkoumondo, now a managing partner at Innovo, a Paris-based online business-to-business marketplace, told The Nairobian.   

The hearing was scheduled for this month before Senior Principal Magistrate Grace Mumasi.

When contacted by The Nairobian, EABL declined to comment on the matter saying the issue is still in court.