Two companies have dragged Absa Bank Kenya Limited before the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, accusing the lender of fraud, collusion and the unlawful disposal of their clients’ properties.
Advocates acting for Kimani Operations Limited and Kimani Ventures Limited say the bank and several other parties engineered suspicious transactions around the auction and sale of properties that secured loans taken out between 2021 and 2022.
Kimani Operations borrowed 195 million shillings in February 2021, putting up the Twin Towers properties as security.
Kimani Ventures took a further 130 million shillings against land in Section II, Eastleigh. Additional facilities and charges later pushed the total exposure into the hundreds of millions.
Yet the companies’ lawyers, led by Danstan Omari, insist Absa has never given a clear, complete account of the loans how much was disbursed, what was paid, how interest and charges were calculated, or the current state of the accounts.
The complaint zeros in on an auction supposedly held on 7 July 2025. That day Nairobi was largely shut down by the Saba Saba demonstrations. Roads were barricaded and movement tightly controlled by security forces.
The lawyers argue no genuine public auction could have taken place under those conditions. They want investigators to find out whether any real bidders attended, whether competitive bidding occurred, or whether the so-called sale was simply a pre-arranged transfer dressed up as an open auction.
Two newly formed companies add to the suspicion. Astralis Verge Limited was incorporated on 15 May 2025 and Samatar Solutions Limited on 2 June 2025 both just weeks before the disputed sale. Astralis Verge later changed its directors. The advocates are demanding that the DCI examine the ownership, beneficial owners, sources of funds, bank records and any communications linked to the alleged purchases.
Auctioneer Serah Njeri Wamwea is also named. The lawyers claim she took part in the process and was among the purported successful bidders, yet her business premises sit in the same building where the auction was scheduled.
They call this a clear conflict of interest.
Despite the claimed sales, Absa has still not supplied the companies with basic documents: the list of people who attended, the bidding register, the reserve price, the highest bid, the memorandum of sale, proof of payment, or any record showing how the proceeds were applied to the outstanding loans.
The properties themselves were allegedly undervalued so they could be sold cheaply.
A second auction on 30 July 2025 involving another Eastleigh plot has only deepened the questions why was another sale needed if the earlier one had already disposed of the securities?
Even after these purported disposals, Absa continues to demand roughly 394.8 million shillings from the two companies. The bank has also taken possession of some of the properties and is collecting rent from them.
The lawyers have formally asked the DCI and the Banking Fraud Investigation Unit to probe Absa Bank and its officers, the auctioneers, Samatar Solutions Limited, Astralis Verge Limited and Fancy Friends Auctioneers.
They want the authorities to determine whether conspiracy to defraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, unlawful acquisition and disposal of property, collusion and abuse of the statutory power of sale were committed.
The complaint comes while the companies are already challenging the alleged sales in court. The advocates urge investigators to move quickly.
These properties, they say, are long-standing investments and the main source of livelihood for the directors and their families.
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