Creditors vote to liquidate Abraaj Kenya over mismanagement claims

Creditors owed by collapsed private equity firm Abraaj Kenya Advisers Ltd have voted for its insolvency. In a meeting held last week, the creditors appointed Muniu Thoithi and George Weru as joint liquidators to oversee the winding up.

The vote now means that Abraaj Kenya owners and the creditors will settle without having to go to court. Creditors are now required to prove their claims of debt before June 15.

"Creditors of the company are required on or before June 15 to send full particulars of all the claims they may have against the company,” said a notice published in the dailies yesterday.

Directors of the company, Ashish Patel and Benjamin Ikenye, had convened the creditors meeting last week.

The firm is linked to Dubai-based private equity fund Abraaj Group. Trouble started over a year ago after allegations of misuse of funds including a $1 billion (Sh106.2 billion) healthcare fund, were made.

The firm had billions worth of investment portfolio in health and hospitality sectors across Africa. Some of the investments had been held in Java, Avenue Hospital and Nairobi Women’s Hospital. Most of them have since been offloaded.

Last year, the Dubai Financial Services Authority fined two firms associated with Abraaj Group $315 million (Sh33.5 billion) for trading irregularities. The fine was the largest financial penalty the authority had ever imposed.

Abraaj Kenya notified the Capital Markets Authority of its intention to cease operations in 2019. “The company liquidation will not affect operations of any other firms affiliated to it,” Abraaj Kenya said.