A key witness in a case involving the alleged theft of over Ksh 356 million from Oki Trading Kenya Limited (OTKL) struggled to explain how the funds were misappropriated during cross-examination in court.
Deepak Rajoria, the current director of OTKL, testified that the money was stolen between 2021 and 2024 by former employee and director, Honey Khatwani.
However, defence lawyer Nector Maloba pressed him to clarify how, in his capacity, he understood the loss of funds.
Rajoria told the court that he first came to Kenya in November 2024 and was appointed as OTKL director in January 2025, despite having worked for the company’s Dubai-based parent firm.
“I was appointed director of the company in January this year when I came to Kenya,” he said.
According to the prosecution, Khatwani, an Indian national, allegedly siphoned the funds to support his own firm, Galaxy Middle East Africa Limited, which he had established before resigning from OTKL.
Court documents further allege that Khatwani, together with another former employee, was a registered director of the new company.
Rajoria testified that upon assuming office in January 2025, he discovered missing funds and documents. He further alleged that Khatwani had generated fake invoices reflecting lower amounts than what was actually received from clients.
During cross-examination, however, Rajoria admitted that he was neither a director of OTKL nor present in Kenya at the time the alleged theft occurred.
“When the offence took place, were you the director of the company?” Maloba asked.
“No,” Rajoria responded.
He conceded that he could not personally account for how the money was lost, relying instead on an audit report presented to the court.
The defence also challenged him to explain how the company remained tax-compliant if its invoices had been falsified, given that it held a valid Tax Compliance Certificate.
“If the alleged offence took place between 2021 and 2024, was the company still paying taxes to the government since you were producing annual audit reports?” Maloba pressed.
Khatwani faces charges of stealing USD 2,786,174.40 (approximately Ksh 356,711,174.40) from OTKL between January 1, 2020, and June 30, 2024, in Babadogo, Nairobi County.
The funds reportedly belonged to Oki General Trading Limited and were allegedly diverted while Khatwani served as company director.
