A businessman has been arraigned before a Kenyan court and charged with making and uttering false documents in connection with the purported resignation of a director and the transfer of shares in Channa Investments Limited.
The accused, Mandeep Singh Channa, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on a cash bail of Ksh 300,000.
According to the charge sheet, Channa is charged with making a false document contrary to Section 347 (a), as read with Section 349 of the Penal Code.
In the first count, the prosecution says that on an unknown date and at an unknown place within Kenya, Channa, jointly with others not before the court, made a false document, an affidavit dated October 19, 2022, purporting it to be a genuine affidavit sworn by Supinderpaul Singh before Esther Asati, an advocate and Commissioner for Oaths, knowing it to be false.
He is also charged with uttering the said affidavit on October 25, 2022, contrary to Section 353 as read with Section 349 of the Penal Code.
The prosecution says Channa knowingly and fraudulently submitted the affidavit using his eCitizen profile on the Business Registration Service (BRS) system, where it was purportedly used to support Supinderpaul Singh's resignation as a director of Channa Investments Limited.
In another count, Channa is charged with making false minutes of a board meeting of Channa Investments Limited dated October 19, 2022, purporting them to be genuine minutes of a duly convened company meeting.
He is further charged with uttering the said minutes on October 25, 2022, by submitting them using his eCitizen profile on the BRS system to support the purported resignation.
The businessman also faces charges relating to a resignation letter dated October 19, 2022, which the prosecution says was falsely made and purported to have been duly executed and signed by Supinderpaul Singh.
According to the charge sheet, Channa submitted the resignation letter using his eCitizen profile on the BRS system on October 25, 2022, knowing it to be false.
The charges also relate to the transfer of 4,000 ordinary shares in Channa Investments Limited from Supinderpaul Singh to Mandeep Singh Channa.
The prosecution says Channa made a false share transfer document dated July 3, 2023, purporting it to be a genuine document transferring the 4,000 shares to him.
He is further charged with uttering the said share transfer document on July 25, 2023, by submitting it using his eCitizen profile on the BRS system, knowing it to be false.
Channa also faces a charge relating to an affidavit dated July 25, 2023, which the prosecution says was falsely made to appear as though it had been sworn by Supinderpaul Singh before Esther Asati.
The prosecution says the affidavit was subsequently submitted using Channa's eCitizen profile on the BRS system to support the transfer of the 4,000 shares.
Across the charges, the prosecution's case centres on documents purportedly connected to Supinderpaul Singh's resignation as a director and the subsequent transfer of his 4,000 ordinary shares in Channa Investments Limited to Channa.
Channa denied all the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court subsequently released him on a cash bail of Ksh 300,000.
The case will proceed through the court process, where the prosecution will be required to prove the charges against him.