Stanbic Kenya has been sued together with its employees for allegedly acting unproceduraly and without following due process in the repossession process.
The bank is accused of not following prudential guidelines and ethics in a case filed at commercial court. Stanbic Bank Limited has been sued for repossession of a motor vehicle without following due process. Fabrice Boyi, a trader is seeking compensation for damages and loss he has experienced after he allegedly lost 3 motor vehicles he had been financed by the bank.
He says that he approached the bank in the year 2019, seeking to secure a facility to finance the purchase of a motor vehicle, Toyota Hiace, his proposal was seconded by the Bank’s finance manager Cliff Nyasinga who was ten working at Kenyatta Avenue Branch.
On 24 July 2019, Boyi informed the bank that he would purchase that car from Toyota Kenya and the bank agreed to finance him. “Nyasinga facilitated all the transactions and we co-owned the motor vehicle together with the bank, “says Boyi.
In court documents, Boyi says that he was remitting the money to the bank as per the Hire Purchase agreement.
He says that in the year 2021, Nyasinga approached him wanting to lease the Toyota Hiace for a business venture where they were to work with another person George Ndeti Kikuvi.
Boyi says it's Nyasinga who introduced him to Ndeti for the car hire. The terms of the leasing agreement were that they were to first deposit Sh 600,000 which they did on March 1, 2021.
The subsequent monthly payments were to be Sh 250,000 to be paid every first month of the year.
He claims that after he handed over the car to the two, they refused to pay monthly instalments and refused to return back his car. Boyi tried to seek redress from the bank but it refused to grant him car track information and the details of his transactions.
“Failure by the bank to provide me with the car information demonstrate that the bank was part and parcel of the fraudulent scheme of the two, “he added in court documents.
The aggrieved businessman says that he approached the bank seeking his account statements but the bank provided information about a different car with different number plates. They provided KCW 693E which was not the correct registration number of the motor vehicle.
He says that the tracking company that had placed tracking devices on his car Tecno Tracking limited said they did not have information about his car.
Boyi says that The two bank officials had made a well-planned scheme to defraud him and steal his car. Boyi said that he reported the matter to the police and the two were arrested and that the criminal case is ongoing at the lower courts.
Boyi also adds that he had again purchased another vehicle HONDA CRV valued at 1.1M, he said Nyasinga had informed him that he will facilitate the importation of the car but he came to learn that the accused changed the details of the car and replaced them with is.
He lost this Honda too. Nyasinga was to inform him when the car arrives at the port so that he can make a clearance but he refused to communicate again. In this matter, Nyasinga is charged together and Esther Wanjiku. The complainant adds that in a separate transaction, the bank facilitated the purchase of the third car Mitsubishi, he says he would use it in the transportation of his company goods.
He says that after Covid-19 hit the country, his company suffered a great loss and he could not able to pay the bank’s loan as required. He approached the Bank seeking an extension of loan repayment but the bank refused and through Startruck Auctioneers, the bank repossessed that car without following due diligence.
Boyi says that the bank went ahead and listed him on CRB which made his company suffer a loss because he could not borrow money anywhere. Boyi contends that the bank did not act in good faith when listing him with CRB and denying him any further funding.
He wants special damages for the loss of business amounting to over 48 million, a declaration that the acts of Stanbic and that of Nyasinga contravene the law.
He also wants the court to order the release of his HONDA and Toyota motor vehicles.
The complainant is accusing Nyasinga of taking out a new insurance policy on the motor vehicle KCW639E when there was a comprehensive cover for the same.
He is accusing him of withholding Information of the whereabouts of his car, causing the car to be taken out of his reach to the guise of hire, refusing to return the car despite numerous demands to do so, failing to inform the complainant about the arrival of his Honda car, holding himself to be the purchaser of the HONDA car, transferring the ownership of Honda car to himself against the law among other allegations.
Ndeti on the other hand is accused of entering into an agreement with Boyi knowing very well he will not be able to honour it, withholding information as to the whereabouts of the Toyota Hiace Car, changing insurance company and refusing to return the car to the owner. Stanbic is accused of providing Boyi with false records of the account statements with regard to the loan for the purchase of Toyota Hiace KCW369E, withholding tracking information, listing him to CRB and failing to follow due process in repossessing his Mitsubishi car. He says the bank is responsible for the actions of the two of its employees, he says the respondents have refused to compensate him and have ignored all demands.
Boyi is seeking special damages and damages for the loss of business amounting to over 60 million, a declaration that the acts of Stanbic and of Nyasinga contravene the law.
He also wants the court to order the release of his HONDA and Toyota motor vehicles.