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How ‘untrained’ lawyer made millions from real estate

How ‘untrained’ lawyer made millions from real estate

Holding a professional profile that is an envy of many lawyers, Nazir
Bhaduralli Nurmohammed Jinnah has made millions in legal fees
over the course of 10 years. To the surprise of friends and clients, Mr Jinnah
is set
to face impersonation charges
after the Directorate of Criminal
Investigations (DCI) discovered that he has no formal legal training.

So far, investigations by DCI have investigations have uncovered
several activities by
Mr Jinnah where he acted as a lawyer.

From work stints with top law firms including Khaminwa &
Khaminwa Advocates and MMC-Asafo, Conrad Law & Consultancy in Nairobi to
Piper May Solicitors in the UK and Mussolini & Dessel in the US, Mr
Jinnah’s claimed experience made him appear a cut above the rest.

According to The Nation, Farhana Properties Limited wanted to sell a
house in Mombasa for Sh50million. The real estate company’s directors agreed to
split the sale proceeds equally after deducting expenses such as legal fees.

One of the directors appointed Nazir Jinnah as her lawyer in the conveyancing dealThe land
buyer wire
d the proceeds in three
instalments – three in cash and one bank transfer from the buyer’s lawyers.
Along the way, Mr Jinnah managed to convince
the legal firm representing the buyer that he was representing both
directors
.

With the above conviction, the last instalment was wired from the buyer’s lawyers to Mr Jinnah’s “client” account. After expenses, Farhana
Properties was to make Sh44 million, which meant that
each of the directors would receive Sh22 million.

But one of the directors lost Sh17
million, which he claims Mr Jinnah pocketed through his “client” account.

A year later, the director who supposedly lost the
17Million

and his wife were sued over ownership of a piece of land in Nyari estate. They
approached Mr Jinnah, who agreed to represent them.

Mr Jinnah then hired Khaminwa & Khaminwa Advocates to file a
constitutional petition seeking a determination on the land’s ownership. But Mr
Jinnah ensured that the couple never met or got in touch with the law firm’s
managing partner, Dr Khaminwa.

The suit is still proceeding, but Mr Birdi paid Mr Jinnah Sh50,000
for legal work that was done by Khaminwa & Khaminwa Advocates.

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In yet another transaction, a Mr
Birdi lost Sh2.8 million after a botched land sale deal.
According to the story by Brian Wasuna of the Nation Media Group, Mr Jinnah had offered to help Mr Birdi sell a piece of land in
Embakasi. The buyer agreed to pay Sh25 million. But the Embakasi land had been
invaded by squatters, and Mr Jinnah offered to have them evicted for Sh2.8
million. The buyer
parted with the Million but Mr Jinnah then
requested for more money. Mr Birdi
refused to part with any additional costs
and cancelled the deal
but had already paid Mr Jinnah Sh2.8 million.

The three transactions are now at the centre of a storm for Mr
Jinnah, who is to be charged with impersonating a lawyer. Impersonation in
Kenya carries a maximum prison term of three years.

The impersonation charges come as Mr Jinnah fights a group of
investors that bought apartments at the English Point Marina in Mombasa County.
Mr Jinnah is the assets and legal affairs director at English Point Marina, and
a shareholder of the embattled real estate project that cost Sh5 billion to put
up.

Read the full story here.

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