A staff member at Oki Trading Company Limited (OTCL) has narrated the ordeal filled with threats he went through under the leadership of the former managing director, Honey Khatwani, who is facing charges of stealing Ksh 356 million from the company.
While giving his testimony before the Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate, Dolphina Alego, Karan Badlani narrated the four-year ordeal under Khatwani, who he claims was using intimidation to silence him.
Karan, a salesperson, said that he used to sell the goods and submit the collected money to the company, but this was changed by the then MD, who could give orders on where the funds would be deposited.
“Khatwani instructed him to give him the collected cash and some to deposit in his wife’s M-Pesa. When I questioned why, because I knew what would befall me, he abused me, saying if I tried to share the same with anyone, I would carry the blame,” Kalan told the court.
The witness told the court that Khatwani went further, threatening his life, which led him to report the matter to the police, given the OB number where a pending criminal case is pending.
He added that Khatwani forced him to register a Safaricom SIM card and open a proxy M-Pesa account, which he could use to send him money.
“He forced me to open an M-Pesa account where I would deposit some of the cash before transferring it to his M-Pesa and bank account. Some of the cash I would deposit directly to his wife through an agent,” The witness said.
Kalan also revealed that Khatwani took his passport and kept it in his custody without any explanation. He reported the matter to the police, but no action was taken.
He described the four years he worked with Khatwani as hell full of threats and intimidation.
Another employee in the company, Jatin Aswan, narrated the pain and anguish he went through while working under the leadership of Khatwani. He alleged that the stolen funds were squandered on gambling, crippling the company’s operations.
He testified that during Khatwani’s resignation, he had established her own company, Galaxy Middle East Africa Limited, which he started before her resignation as the registered director jointly with another former employee.
Jointly with another former employee.
When Deepak realized funds and essential documents were missing, he invited an auditor who concluded that between 2021 and 2024, the company had lost KSh 356,711,806.
Another revelation is that he had authorized some of the company’s funds and clients’ cheques to be deposited in his personal account and through his and his wife’s M-Pesa accounts.
He was further alleged to have made fake invoices for the company, which indicated a lower amount of cash than was received from clients.
Khatwani was charged with stealing $2,786,174.40 (approximately Ksh . 356,711,174.40) from OTCL, the money that came into his possession through his employment.
The alleged offence occurred at Babadogo in Nairobi County between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2024.
The court heard that the funds belonged to OKI General Trading Limited and were allegedly stolen by Khatwani while he was a company director.
