The National Bank of Kenya is set to auction the house of Mombasa billionaire Ali Punjani over a long standing debt.
Business Daily on June 16, 2021, reported that the debt is believed to be over Ksh1 billion inclusive of interest and penalties.
The house rests on 0.4 acres in the Bondeni neighbourhood of Nyali. The double-storey mansion boasts 8 bedrooms, a swimming pool, and staff quarters.
It is registered to Shrike Investments Limited G/T Rising Star Commodities.
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“The property is situated within Nyali Estate, Mombasa County. Access off Links Road is through Nyali Road to Moyne Drive, through to Kenyatta Avenue and Green-Wood Drive. The subject is situated along an unnamed Cul-de-sac Access Road and it’s a second-row beach plot approximately 300m off Green Wood Drive,” an advertisement by Garam auctioneers read in part.
KCB Group stepped up efforts of cleaning up bad debts after it acquired NBK in 2019.
Gross non-performing loans at NBK stood at Sh26.3 billion in September 2020 from Sh2.2 billion in 2012.
In 2016, NBK's associate relationship manager Edwin Kipchumba exposed Punjani's dealings with NBK, stating that the billionaire had back door channels that enabled him acquire millions from the lender.
“Rising Star Commodities Limited was credited Sh580.6 million by NBK on December 31, 2015. It was debited the same amount, on the same date. The sum was shown as a new loan."
In 2019, the mansion hit national headlines when the police spent 20 hours attempting to breach the house. Punjani has often been associated with the illegal sale and trafficking of narcotics.
He is said to have close ties with Baktash and Ibram Akasha who were convicted in New York for drug trafficking in East Africa, Afghanistan, Europe, and the United States of America.
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