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Somaia gets 8 years for being ‘fundamentally dishonest’

When reading out Somaia's sentence, Judge Hone said that despite the defendant's present ill-health, he had been, "fundamentally dishonest," in his dealings with the complainants/COURTESY-DAILY MAIL

When reading out Somaia’s sentence, Judge Hone said that despite the defendant’s present ill-health, he had been, “fundamentally dishonest,” in his dealings with the complainants/COURTESY-DAILY MAIL

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 23 – Ketan Somaia was on Tuesday sentenced to eight years by Judge Richard Hone in Britain after being found guilty of nine counts of obtaining money transfers by deception in June.

When reading out Somaia’s sentence, Judge Hone said that despite the defendant’s present ill-health, he had been, “fundamentally dishonest,” in his dealings with the complainants.

“Loans you took were never invested as you said they would be, they were used by you for your own purposes or to prop up your business. Not one of the loans was repaid in part. Not one single deal came to fruition,” the Daily Mail quoted Judge Hone as saying.

Somaia’s heart condition, Judge Hone found, could be adequately tended to behind bars. The evidence the Jury had heard being, “very strong,” despite Somaia’s challenge.

One of the two complainants’ own ill health, Murli Mirchandani, had kept them from attending the sentencing, the Daily Mail reported.

Somaia was on June 14 found guilty by a Jury after Mirchandani and Dilip Shah pursued private prosecutions against him for over Sh2 billion they lent him between 1999 and 2000.

Money he never paid back, as captured in Jude Hone’s previous statement, despite wooing them, “with luxury trips on private Learjets, Champagne parties, extravagant dinners and expenses paid trips to Dubai, Kenya and South Africa,” according to the Guardian. READ: ‘King Con’ Somaia guilty of fraud in the UK.

The Kenyan born entrepreneur, the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday, “had shown similar dishonest behaviour towards a third investor and tried to evade justice until he was brought to account in a British court.

“It is apparent your Dolphin group of companies was in serious trouble in the economic downturn of 1999,” Judge Hone observed.

Somaia’s prosecution which began in April, “is thought to be the largest of its kind,” according to the Daily Mail.

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But legal battles were not new to the 52 year old Somaia who was also involved in a property dispute with Kamlesh Pattni.

READ the original story on the DAILY MAIL.

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