Norwegian investor sues Kenyan lawyer over Sh52mn dispute
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 25 – A Norwegian businessman, John B. Solheim, has moved to the High Court in Nairobi seeking to recover over $403,000 (Sh52 million) he claims to have deposited into the account of a Kenyan advocate, Dennis Onyango, for undisclosed business purposes that never materialised.
According to court documents filed at the Milimani Commercial and Tax Division, Solheim alleges that he transferred the funds between August and December 2023 from his personal bank account in Norway to a client account held by Onyango at Stanbic Bank’s Chiromo branch.
The deposits were made in four tranches: $87,097 on August 18, $86,000 on October 2, $130,000 on November 13, and $100,000 on December 8.
Solheim, through his lawyer Philip Kipkemoi Langat, claims Onyango acknowledged receipt of the funds but has since gone silent and failed to either use the money for its intended purpose or refund it.
The funds, according to the plaintiff, were not authorised for any alternative use, and there has been no communication from Onyango regarding their status.
The Norwegian investor is now seeking urgent court orders to freeze the account and bar Onyango from withdrawing or utilising the funds.
He also wants Stanbic Bank and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Banking Fraud Unit to be enjoined in the suit, with the latter directed to investigate the matter and file a comprehensive report.
“There is no legal basis for the defendant to continue holding the funds. I am apprehensive he may have already used or misappropriated them,” Solheim stated in his affidavit.
In a startling twist, Solheim also accuses Onyango of uttering a fake letter purporting to be from Stanbic Bank, which the bank later disowned.
The document, allegedly presented as evidence of the funds being held for other clients, has raised suspicion of forgery and possible money laundering.
