Kenyan industrialist Vimal Shah recently testified in a Nairobi courtroom about a foreign currency transaction that has left him fighting to recover over Sh102 million. The case centers around a dispute with businessman Nicholas Nesbitt, whom Shah claims he had known for years through business and industry associations. Nesbitt is facing a criminal charge of conspiracy to defraud, which he has denied, and is out on a cash bail of Sh500,000.
According to Shah, the trouble began in May 2023 when his company, Bidco Africa, needed dollars to pay for imported raw materials. Nesbitt approached Shah with a solution, offering to introduce him to people who could source dollars quickly. The arrangement involved Bidco transferring Kenyan shillings, with the equivalent amount in US dollars to be deposited the following day. Shah had previously completed several similar transactions successfully between March and April 2023, making the proposed arrangement appear familiar.
Nesbitt introduced Shah to Mehmet Bulent Boytorum, a British-Turkish entrepreneur and co-director of Bee N Bee Limited. Shah was told that Boytorum could facilitate foreign-currency conversions using stablecoins and other digital assets. On May 24, 2023, Bidco transferred Sh102,437,500 to Bee N Bee's account at Standard Chartered Bank, expecting to receive $745,000 at an agreed exchange rate of Sh137.50 to the dollar. However, the dollars did not arrive as promised, with only $295,000 being converted and remitted.
The failure to deliver the full amount of dollars led to a battle to recover the money, with Shah claiming that attempts to obtain the balance became increasingly difficult. He testified that Nesbitt and Boytorum avoided him, and their communication later moved largely to WhatsApp. Shah trusted Nesbitt due to their years of friendship and familiarity, including through the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and the East African Business Council.
The parties formalized their arrangement in a Trade Finance Agreement dated May 23, 2023. However, the dispute eventually found its way into both arbitration and the criminal courts. The parties went through arbitration, culminating in an arbitral award on February 11, 2025, which was later adopted by the High Court. Boytorum had argued that the dispute was purely commercial and had already been conclusively determined through arbitration.
The High Court declined to halt the criminal proceedings, dismissing Boytorum's petition in June. The court observed that criminal conduct cannot be presumed to be absent simply because the people involved operate in the world of big business and finance. The court noted that crime can occur across society, regardless of social standing, and that the question of how and why the money remained unaccounted for was a matter capable of being examined by the criminal justice system.
The case is ongoing, with Nesbitt denying the accusation of falsely representing his ability to convert the money into US dollars. Shah reported the matter to the police, after which investigations culminated in the criminal case before the Milimani court. Boytorum, who is also facing charges, is yet to take a plea and reportedly disappeared after being released on police cash bail last year. The hearing was adjourned to November.
Key points
- Vimal Shah is fighting to recover over Sh102 million in a forex fraud case involving businessman Nicholas Nesbitt.
- The dispute centers around a failed foreign currency transaction that was supposed to provide Bidco Africa with $745,000.
- The case has led to a criminal charge of conspiracy to defraud against Nesbitt and a ongoing battle to recover the lost funds.
