ITS DEVANI

The arrest of suspected mastermind of the multi-billion Triton Oil scandal Yagnesh Devani at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport remains a mystery as police maintain that the man arrested was not the real Devani but a relative.

However Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang maintained that the man arrested was indeed Devani and that the police allegedly colluded with the suspect to release him from custody .

Police on Tuesday released the suspect from custody after claiming that they had carried out intensive investigations that proved the suspect was not the wanted Devani but his nephew.

According to Kajwang , the person, who was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Friday after Kenyan detectives received a tip of from their Interpol counterparts was the businessman.

"I can confirm that all officers who carried out investigations from our two data bases confirmed he was Devani," said the Minister adding that it was only his ministry that stores data on all people in the country.

The Minister who was addressing the media in his office revealed that two tests were carried out on the suspect, the first one at Nairobi Primary Database while the second was done at the Population Registration Centre and the results confirmed that the face and finger prints were Devani's.

"If the police were in doubt about the person they were holding they should have come for more information and we would have confirmed to them that both the finger prints and the face were Devani's," Kajwang said.

When news first came in that the wanted Yagnesh Devani, the tycoon behind the 7.6 billion Triton Oil scandal was to land in the country on Friday last week aboard an Air Arabia flight, all systems were activated to arrest the suspect upon landing.

And indeed, the suspect was arrested and taken to custody. However, since then, it has been a game of musical chairs between the crucial immigration ministry and police headquarters.

Devani is on the watch list, together with 7 other directors of the moribund Triton Oil Company who defrauded KCB Bank and Kenya Pipeline Company of 2.4 billion shillings.

A warrant of arrest was issued against the man who has been charged in a Kenyan court in absentia with stealing over 12 million U.S dollars the property of Kenya Commercial Bank.

He also faces another count of stealing by servant over 19 million US dollars, which he received on behalf of Kenya Pipeline Company.

Devani is also alleged to have stolen some 26,216.60 metric tonnes of oil at the Kipevu storage facility in Mombasa.

The oil had allegedly been entrusted to him by KCB to jointly hold in safe custody with the Kenya Pipeline Company for and on account of Triton Petroleum and KCB.

It alleged that the petroleum products were valued at Ksh1.532, 272,140.

The act by Triton Company is said to have caused the government a loss amounting to billions of shillings and saw seen several senior officers in the oil sector being suspended to pave way for investigations into the matter.