Businessman Vimal Shah’s Crypto Fraud Case: Inside Bidco’s Ksh102M Forex Deal

What to know

• Bidco Africa chairman Vimal Shah testified in a Nairobi court that his company lost Ksh102.4 million (~$790,000) in a 2023 foreign-exchange deal that was never completed.
• The deal was pitched to him as a way to source US dollars fast, using crypto and stablecoin conversion, during Kenya’s 2023 dollar shortage.
• The money that moved was Kenyan shillings; the crypto/stablecoin conversion that was promised in return never happened, according to Shah’s testimony.
• Nicholas Nesbitt, a former KEPSA and Capital Markets Authority chairman, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud; he denies the charge, and the case is ongoing.
• His alleged business partner, Bulent Boytorun — described in court as a “crypto and stablecoin specialist” — left Kenya and has not answered the charges.

Bidco Africa’s chairman testified this week that a dollar deal pitched to him as crypto and stablecoin conversion cost his company Ksh102.4 million.

What Happened This Week

On September 14, Vimal Shah took the stand at Nairobi’s Milimani Magistrate’s Court. Shah, chairman of Bidco Africa, one of East Africa’s largest consumer goods manufacturers, testified that in 2023, his company transferred Ksh102,437,500 into a deal that was supposed to deliver US dollars within 24 hours. He never got them.

He’s testifying as a witness in the prosecution’s case against Nicholas Nesbitt, a longtime business associate charged with conspiracy to defraud him. Nesbitt denies it. The trial is still ongoing.

How the Deal Was Pitched

According to Shah’s testimony, during Kenya’s 2023 dollar shortage, when local banks were rationing US currency, Bidco needed dollars to keep paying for imported raw materials.

Shah had known Nesbitt, a former Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) chairman, for 15 to 20 years, since their time together at IBM. Nesbitt had allegedly tried and failed to source dollars for Bidco twice, in March and April 2023, with the shillings returned each time.

On May 18, 2023, Shah testified that Nesbitt came back with a new plan and introduced him to Mehmet Bulent Boytorun. Nesbitt was described as his 50/50 business partner and, according to court testimony, an expert in converting currency “through stablecoin and through cryptocurrencies.”

Shah said he checked that Boytorun’s company held an account at Standard Chartered. The bank confirmed the account existed but gave no further detail.

On May 23, 2023, Bidco transferred the shillings to Bee N Bee Kenya Limited, a company Boytorun directed, under a signed trade-finance agreement. The dollars never arrived.

Where Crypto Actually Fits In

Current testimony and case details indicate no cryptocurrency or stablecoins appear to have actually changed hands.

However, crypto and stablecoins were reportedly the method Boytorun said he would use to source and deliver the dollars. They were not assets Bidco held or lost.

What it was was a conventional fraud that promised movement of funds through stablecoins as the credibility pitch, at a moment when Kenyan businesses were genuinely dollar-starved and increasingly aware that other firms were using stablecoins like USDT to pay foreign suppliers.

Who’s Who

• Vimal Shah: Bidco Africa chairman, the businessman who testified he sent the money.
• Nicholas “Nik” Nesbitt: former KEPSA and Capital Markets Authority chairman; charged with conspiracy to defraud; denies the charge. He is out on cash bail of Ksh500,000.
• Mehmet Bulent Boytorun, who was described in court as a crypto and stablecoin specialist, the founder of CryptoSas and a director of Bee N Bee Kenya Limited, has left Kenya and has not appeared to answer the charges against him.
• Bee N Bee Kenya Limited: the company that received Bidco’s Ksh102.4 million, a co-accused in the case.

Where the Case Stands Now

Nesbitt was formally charged in January 2025 under Section 317 of Kenya’s Penal Code and pleaded not guilty.

He has since petitioned the High Court to quash the criminal charges, arguing the prosecution violated his constitutional rights. The petition, per Kenya Law’s records, was still before the court as of mid-2026.

Shah’s September 2026 testimony is part of the ongoing prosecution case; no verdict has been reached, and both the outcome of the criminal trial and the quash petition remain open.

Why This Matters

Whatever the court decides, the pattern in this case- a trusted personal introduction, a promise of fast currency conversion “through crypto,” and a wire sent on reputation rather than verified licensing- is exactly the kind of deal Kenya’s new regulatory framework is designed to make riskier to offer.

The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025 and its Regulations, gazetted on July 22, 2026, now require anyone offering crypto or stablecoin conversion services in or from Kenya to be licensed by either the Central Bank of Kenya or the Capital Markets Authority.

Existing operators are required to be compliant by November 4, 2026. None of that framework existed in 2023, when the transaction at the centre of this case took place.

For businesses facing the same dollar-access pressure that drove this deal, the practical lesson doesn’t wait for the verdict. A personal relationship and a bank account confirmation aren’t licensing checks.