Mohan Galot is a Kenyan businessman who is the proprietor and managing director of London Distillers.
The company was associated with a product portfolio of over 25 liquor brands.
LDK is renowned for its wide range of whisky, gin, brandy, vodka, rum, and the unique Safari Cane and liqueurs.
Its flagship brands, Safari Cane and Old Monk Rum were lauded for meeting international standards of quality at the Monde Selection Awards in Brussels, Belgium.
The company has been in operation for over two decades in Kenya and over a century in other countries.
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Galot is among the wealthiest individuals in the country and has interests in various sectors of the economy.
He is associated with several companies, some of which include: Bounty Ltd, Galot International Ltd, King Woolen Mills Ltd, Dyno Holdings Ltd, Mohan Meakin Ltd, Galot Industries Ltd, Manchester Outfitters Ltd among others.
In the recent past, the billionaire businessman has been at the centre of various controversies involving run-ins with the law.
Over the years, he has been involved in lawsuits pitting him against the government and also against some of his family members.
Nairobileo.co.ke looks at expensive cars he owns and some of the times the billionaire has attracted national attention originating from run-ins with the law.
Cars
The 75-year-old billionaire does not shy aware from spending his money. He is known to own some of the most expensive cars in Kenya.
Some of the cars owned by Galot have been sighted in various places in the city and caused a stir among netizens.
He is the owner of two cars with custom number plates that sparked social media debates when Kenyans sought to know who the rich guy behind them is.
Galot owns a Bentley with custom number plate, S G 1, whose initials are alleged to stand for Santosh Galot.
The two cars are said to belong to billionaireMohan Galot.
The car is approximated to have set the billionaire back in excess of Ksh30 million.
Galot also owns a Rolls Royce Ghost 2014. The car has plates with the initials MG 1 touted to be an abbreviation of the businessman’s name.
The beast is powered by a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 that produces 563 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque. It also boasts an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The car accelerates from 0km/h to 100Km/h in just 4.9 seconds.
Other features of the car include stability and traction control, antilock brakes, active front head restraints, front-seat side airbags and side curtain airbags.
An active air suspension, front and rear parking sensors, keyless ignition and entry, adaptive cruise control, heated front and rear seats, four-zone automatic climate control, a navigation system and a satellite radio are some of the features that make the car a force to reckon with.
The car is estimated to cost in excess of Ksh30 million and may be worth more depending on the customization.
Forgery
In 2016, Galot was arrested alongside his wife Santosh Galot on forgery charges. The two had been accused of forging signatures in the acquisition and transfer of prime land in Nairobi.
The case against the two was dropped in December that year on grounds that the allegations did not meet the threshold for prosecution. The charges were later pressed against Galot’s nephews Pravin Galot and Rajesh Galot.
File Image of Mohan Galot and Santosh Galot.
The two were accused of forging signatures of Ministry of Lands officials. They also alleged that their uncle, Galot, had also forged signatures of the registrar of companies to transfer 3 prime plots to MGK Park Ltd minus the consent of the other directors of Galot industries including Rajesh and Pravin.
Chief Magistrate Daniel Ogembo of the Milimani Law Courts acquitted them, stating that the parties involved were members of the same family.
Galot and Santosh were facing eight counts of forgery and fraud and were each released on Ksh500,000 bail in May 2014.
The two were involved in a battle over the control of a multi-billion-shilling business empire with their nephews, Pravin and Rajesh.
Tax Evasion
On July 21, 2021, Galot was charged with tax evasion amounting to Ksh2.5 billion.
The billionaire businessman and LDK are facing 18 charges. The prosecution accused Galot and his company of economic sabotage for failure to remit taxes despite raking in profits from years of operation.
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji approved the charges after the Kenya Revenue Authority concluded 2 years of investigation into the businessman’s dealings. The taxman claims that he and the directors of LDK created fraudulent schemes of evading taxes.
“Investigations revealed that the businessman and his company were involved in a scheme of gross underreporting of production and sales volumes and also purchase of packaging materials through associated companies,” the prosecution stated.
The charge sheet indicated that the businessman and his company evaded paying taxes in form of excise duty, Value Added Tax on locally manufactured spirits, and corporation taxes between January 2016 and December 2019.
Galot was released on a Ksh1 million bond and the case will be mentioned on August 9, 2021.
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