About 2 companies have gone to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations accusing Absa Bank Kenya of fraud, collusion and unlawful disposal of properties that were used as security for loans.
The complaint, filed by lawyers for Kimani Operations Limited and Kimani Ventures Limited, asks investigators to dig into auctions that the companies say never properly took place and into companies that suddenly appeared to buy the assets.
Kimani Operations took a facility of 195 million shillings in February 2021, secured by the Twin Towers properties. Kimani Ventures took 130 million shillings secured by land in Eastleigh Section II. Additional facilities pushed the overall exposure into the hundreds of millions.
The lawyers say the bank has never given a full accounting of the loans—how much was disbursed, what was paid, how interest and charges were calculated, or the true outstanding balances.
The central claim is that an auction advertised for 7 July 2025 could not have been genuine. That day was Saba Saba. Roads into Nairobi were barricaded and movement heavily restricted by security forces. The lawyers argue that under those conditions it was impossible for a proper public auction with open competitive bidding to occur.
They want the DCI to check whether any real bidders attended, whether a bidding register exists, and whether the sale was simply arranged in advance and dressed up as a public process.
Two companies that later emerged as purchasers raise further questions. Astralis Verge Limited was incorporated on 15 May 2025. Samatar Solutions Limited was incorporated on 2 June 2025. Both were formed only weeks before the disputed auction.
The lawyers want investigators to examine who really owns these companies, where their money came from, and any links to the bank or the auctioneers.
One of the auctioneers named, Serah Njeri Wamwea, is said to have premises in the same building where the auction was supposed to happen and is also listed among the purported successful bidders—raising an obvious conflict-of-interest issue.
The companies say they have never been given the basic documents that should accompany any legitimate sale: the attendance list, the bidding register, the reserve price, the highest bid, the memorandum of sale, proof of payment, or evidence of how the proceeds were applied to the loans.
They also allege the properties were deliberately undervalued so they could be disposed of cheaply.
Despite the supposed sales, Absa is still demanding roughly 394.8 million shillings. After taking possession of some of the buildings, the bank has been collecting rent.
The complaint names Absa Bank and its officers, the auctioneers, Samatar Solutions, Astralis Verge and Fancy Friends Auctioneers. It asks the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit to look into possible conspiracy to defraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, unlawful acquisition and disposal of property, collusion, and abuse of the statutory power of sale.
The companies have already challenged the sales in court, but they now want the criminal side investigated as well.The directors are elderly.
The long-running dispute has taken a heavy toll on their health and on the family’s ability to earn a living from assets built over years of work. They are asking the authorities to move quickly so that the facts can be established and, if wrongdoing is found, those responsible can be held to account.
