Tanzanian businessman Guarav Jayesh Kumar Kotecha has failed to overturn an Interpol arrest warrant issued in connection with a $5.9-million fraud case.
The decision to overturn the warrant follows a criminal investigation that began in 2019 into attempts to defraud Kenya’s Prime Bank Limited of Ksh706 million ($5.9 million).
Kotecha is charged alongside his father, Midland Hauliers Director Javesh Kumar Prabhudar Kotecha, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The warrant was issued after a senior state prosecutor informed the court that Gaurav had not been arrested because he was not in Kenya when the case came up for hearing.
Kotecha, who is linked to Midland Hauliers, a financially distressed transport services firm that went into administration in 2019, asked the court to overturn the warrant issued last September, arguing that it was issued without “compliance with the provisions of extradition laws.”
He claimed that the commercial court proceedings concerning allegations of defrauding Prime Bank of $5.9 million through the transfer of mortgaged goods were motivated by malice and that the case was purely a civil dispute.
The Tanzanian businessman explained that he was in the UK to study and that the warrant for his arrest might interfere with his studies. He added that he is not connected in any way to the fraud allegations, and went on to state that he had no interest in the case other than being Kumar’s son.
In response to the claims, Interpol upheld the businessman’s arrest warrant, claiming that it was issued correctly and legally, and that he was served with the summons through his attorneys, but he failed to appear in court as directed.
