Trader charged with stealing Sh53.8m from insurance firms
Mombasa Principal Magistrate Vincent Adet.
A Mombasa businessman has been charged with stealing more than Sh53.8 million meant for four insurance firms.
Mr Masumali Hassan Ali Meghji is accused of stealing the money through his firm, Masumali Meghji Insurance Brokers Ltd, between 2016 and 2019 in Mombasa.
The money was meant for remittance as insurance premiums to Sanlam General, ICEA Lion, Fidelity and APA Insurance companies.
The charge sheet reads that Mr Meghji, jointly with others not in court, being an agent of Scarce Commodities Kenya Ltd and Petrocity Enterprises Ltd , stole Sh53,832,742 from the two companies, which had been entrusted to him for remittance as insurance premiums to the four insurance firms.
According to the court records, the suspect was to remit Sh21 million as insurance premiums to Fidelity Insurance Ltd, Sh26 million to ICEA Lion, Sh3.5 million to APA and Sh3million to Sanlam.
Mr Meghji Wednesday appeared before Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate Vincent Adet and denied 12 counts of stealing by agent and was granted a Sh2 million bond with one surety. He was given the alternative of paying Sh500,000 cash bail.
The businessman was discretely presented before the magistrate in chambers in the morning where he pleaded to the offence.
Records shows that the suspect complained of an illness and requested that the charges be read out to him before the rest of the accused persons.
Mr Meghji paid the Sh500,000 cash bail and left the court premises.
The case will be mentioned on October 18.