Kamlesh Pattni well known as brother Paul is a controversial Kenyan- Indian pastor and a renowned businessman who rose to fame in the 90s. Kamlesh was among the top businessmen during the Moi era and his name hit headlines during the Goldenberg scandal that saw Kenyan taxpayers lose billions in subsidized export of gold that were beyond the standards.
Despite being mentioned in the scandal it took him 14 years to prove his innocence in a court of law and following the back-to-back hit Kamlesh turned out to be a pastor and accepted the name brother Paul as his Christian name.
After staying off the media for years, his name has resurfaced again following Al-Jazeera’s expose of how he turned dirty money into gold. This article has everything you need to know about the expose as well as his life journey
Kamlesh Pattni Career
Business Career and Goldenberg Scandal
Kamlesh Pattni, born Kamlesh Mansukhlai Damji Pattni began his business career in his early 20s controlling huge business enterprises. At 25 years old he was already a millionaire engaging in different businesses including an engineering firm, duty-free shops, five-star hotels, a bank as well as a tour and travel company.
His name grew in the business world and in the 90s his company Goldenberg International was contracted by the government of Kenya which was headed by the late President Daniel Arap Moi.
His company was contracted and given exclusive rights to export Kenyan Gold. However, the contract would later explode as it was discovered that the company smuggled gold from Congo and sold it abroad.
The scheme was blown by a whistleblower who at the time was working for Central Bank. According to the whistleblower, there was no export of Gold from Kenya despite the huge amount of money that was being transacted to facilitate the export.
This led to an investigation into the matter and following the investigation numerous high-profile politicians were linked to the scandal that saw the country lose Ksh 60 billion which was over 10% of the country’s GDP at the time.
Following the investigation, it was alleged that Kamlesh bought the Grand Regency Hotel with the profits of the smuggling gold. In order to avoid prosecution, he decided to hand over the hotel to the Central Bank of Kenya which would later sell the hotel to Libyan investors. The businessman battled the case in the court for years before he was acquitted in 2013 by the High Court of Kenya.
Joining Politics
In 2007, Kamlesh decided to follow a political route and vied for a member of parliament seat for Westlands. However, despite his desire and promises to the people of Westland he never managed to secure the seat and that marked the end of his political career.
Transformation to Brother Paul
Prior to his shift from Hinduism to Christianity, Kamlesh had faced a murder charge in 2003 after he was accused of murdering a former bodyguard. The case led to his detention at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison for a while. The case took over two years before he proved his innocence.
Al-Jazeera Expose
After staying away from the limelight for years recently his name bounced back into the controversial world following an expose by an international media giant Al-Jazeera. In their four-part Gold Mafia Series, the media house implicated brother Paul of turning dirty money into gold an updated version of ‘wash wash as Kenyan could call it.’
According to the report, Kamlesh Pattni’s alias brother Paul owns a company in Zimbabwe called Suzan General and another trading company in Dubai. Reports further show that the company in Zimbabwe is paid by the Zimbabwean government to export gold.
Kamlesh went ahead and agreed to help undercover reports who poised as criminals to clean money by tuning the money into gold that would be exported from Zimbabwe to Dubai and then return to the country as a proceed of Zimbabwean gold. Being the operator of the two companies makes it easy for him to launder money without leaving a trace.
According to him, his dealing is safe since the Zimbabwean President is well aware and he’s benefited from it as the proceeds of the business has helped the country earn dollars that they trade within the international market. On top of that, he says for work to flow better he has to move with the King.
After the expose went viral, Kamlesh declined to comment on the matter citing that he thought the reporters were investors who wanted secure a stake in the hotel business. However, despite the conc details of his criminal activities, no action has been taken against him.
Kamlesh Pattni Wealth
Following his businesses and dealings his net worth is estimated to be over Ksh 40 billion.