Nairobi businessman, Yusuf Abdi Adan, has taken his fellow shareholders in Bluebird Aviation (Kenya) (BBZ, Nairobi Wilson) to court claiming they have defrauded him of up to USD3 billion (KES300 billion) over the last 23 years.
In his case filed in a Nairobi court last week, Adan accused Hussein Ahmed Farah, Hussein Unshur Mohamed, and Mohamed Abdikadir Adan of fraudulently misappropriating between USD750 million and USD1billion since the firm started operations back in 1992. Adan claims that the three other shareholders, each of whom owns a 25% stake in the Kenyan charter operator, have purposefully excluded him from the runnings of the airline by withholding financial statements from him.
According to the Nairobi Business Times, Adan claims the trio created two parallel financial systems which allowed them to divert profits away from the firm for use in buying properties and shares both in Kenya and around the world. He adds that when he raised concerns in the past, he was given some funds ostensibly to keep him quiet.
As such, Adan is claiming the payment of USD3 billion or conversely, he wants the other shareholders to buy his 25% shareholding subject to a court-appointed receiver undertaking a forensic audit of the firm. The trio have reportedly offered him a USD30 million pay-out for his stake; an offer he has rejected as arbitrary.
Blue Bird Aviation is licensed to operate scheduled, non-scheduled and ad-hoc charter services, as well as medevac and relief flights, within the East and Central African region. It currently operates a fleet of five Dash 8-400(F)s, four Dash 8-100s, two Dash 8-400s (one of which is leased to the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNO, Brindisi)), and two Fokker 50s.
