Businessman charged over fake BRS records claiming director resigned

A businessman on Friday appeared before a Kenyan court where he was charged with making and uttering false documents in connection with the alleged resignation of a director and the transfer of shares in Channa Investments Limited.

The accused, Mandeep Singh Channa, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on a cash bail of KES 300,000.

According to the charge sheet, the first count states that Channa made a false document, contrary to Section 347(a) as read with Section 349 of the Penal Code. The prosecution alleges that, on a date and at a place within Kenya unknown, Channa, jointly with others not before the court, made a false document, an affidavit dated October 19, 2022, purporting it to be a genuine affidavit sworn by Supinderpaul Singh before Esther Asati, an advocate and commissioner for oaths, knowing it to be false.

He was also charged with uttering the affidavit on October 25, 2022, contrary to Section 353 as read with Section 349 of the Penal Code.

The prosecution alleges that Channa knowingly and fraudulently submitted the affidavit through his eCitizen account on the Business Registration Service (BRS) system, where it was purportedly used to support Supinderpaul Singh's resignation as a director of Channa Investments Limited.

In a further count, Channa is accused of making false minutes of a board meeting of Channa Investments Limited dated October 19, 2022, purporting them to be genuine minutes of a duly convened company meeting.

He is also accused of uttering the false minutes on October 25, 2022, by submitting them through his eCitizen account on the BRS system in support of the purported resignation.

The accused faces further charges relating to a resignation letter dated October 19, 2022, which the prosecution claims was falsely made and purported to have been duly executed and signed by Supinderpaul Singh. According to the charge sheet, Channa submitted the resignation letter through his eCitizen account on the BRS system on October 25, 2022, knowing it to be false.

The charges also relate to an alleged transfer of 4,000 ordinary shares in Channa Investments Limited from Supinderpaul Singh to Mandeep Singh Channa. The prosecution alleges that Channa made a false share transfer document dated July 3, 2023, purporting it to be a genuine document transferring the shares to him. He is further accused of uttering the false share transfer document on July 25, 2023, by submitting it through his eCitizen account on the BRS system, knowing it to be false.

Channa also faces charges over an affidavit dated July 25, 2023, which the prosecution claims was falsely made to appear as though it had been sworn by Supinderpaul Singh before Esther Asati. The prosecution alleges that the affidavit was subsequently submitted through Channa's eCitizen account on the BRS system to support the transfer of the 4,000 shares.

Channa denied all the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the court released him on a cash bail of KES 300,000. The case will proceed through the court process, in which the prosecution will be required to prove the allegations against him.