This archive report was first published on 14 May 2020.
Yagnesh Devani, a Kenyan oil tycoon wanted for a £61m fraud, has lost his decade-long fight to stop his extradition from the UK.
Devani, 55, was arrested by London's Metropolitan Police in 2011 on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.
He faces 19 charges of fraud in Kenya, including allegations that he and his firm, Triton Petroleum, disposed of millions of litres of fuel mortgaged to Emirates National Oil Corporation (Singapore) without its permission.
Devani claimed that the Kenyan authorities could not be trusted to place him in a suitable prison, citing the case of pastor Gilbert Deya, who was extradited to Kenya in 2017.
However, a judge at the UK's High Court rejected Devani's claims, ruling that the evidence was 'anecdotal' and did not undermine the assurances given by Kenyan officials.
Devani's extradition was approved by Lord Justice Underhill, who stated that the weight of the evidence was 'limited' and did not provide the 'evidential weight required to undermine the specific assurances given by senior office holders in Kenya.'
Devani's case dates back to 2008, when Kenyan authorities allege that the state-owned Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) released petroleum products worth £61 million to Devani's company, Triton Petroleum.
The oil products were being held as collateral for bank loans to KPC, and the head of KPC was dismissed in January 2009 following the scandal.
