Traders charged with forging company's registration

Businessmen Suresh Mohanlal Fantania (right) and Shantilal Karsandas Varia in a Nairobi Court. The case will be mentioned on January 6, 2021. [File, Standard]

Two traders were Tuesday charged with forging registration documents of a multi-million property in Westlands, Nairobi County.

Suresh Mohanlal Fantania and Shantilal Karsandas Varia faced four charges of conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, obtaining registration of a company by false pretence, giving false information and fraudulently procuring the registration of a sublease of a company.

The charges were as a result of a dispute that started in 2007 between the two and another businessman- over ownership and control of Treo Apartment Limited along Peponi Road in Westlands, Nairobi.

“On April 4 2007 at Peponi road within Nairobi County, you jointly conspired to commit a misdemeanor, namely impersonation by falsely presenting yourself as the directors of Treo apartment Limited and presided over a shareholders meeting,” read the charge sheet.

In the second count, Fantania and Varia were accused of obtaining registration by false pretence where the charges stated that they fraudulently procured land sub-lease registration for Sunil Davda, Chunilal Khimasia, Ammet Bhattessa, JayantilalParmal, JayantilalHaria and Mahendra Pathak.

They were also accused of giving false information to the registrar of companies to illegally secure changes of directors of Treo Apartment Limited.

According to the prosecution, the two on May 11, 2005 presented a false notification for change of company directors for Treo Apartment Limited to the registrar of companies- while aware that the information was false and intended to mislead the registration officer.

“As a result of their misleading information, the registrar of companies admitted new company directors as Sunil Davda, ChunilalKhimasia, AmmetBhattessa, JayantilalParmal, JayantilalHaria and Mahendra Pathak to the annoyance of the legitimate director Vijay Kumar Gohil,” the charges read.

The fourth count alleged that the two businessmen fraudulently procured the registration of sub-leases of a land in Westlands for Bharat Gehlot at the Nairobi Lands Registry on October 10, 2017.

They denied the charges before Nairobi Senior Resident Magistrate Martha Mutuku who released them on Sh200, 000 cash bail each.

They will appear for mention of the case on January 6, 2021 for pre-trial.