Pevans East Africa CEO Ronald Karauri now in dispute with other company shareholders citing being left out of the company deals.
Paul Wanderi Ndung’u and Asenath Maina have a combined of 38 per cent stake in Pevans accuse Mr Karauri of doing backdoor fraudulent deals.
Mr Ndung’u holds a 17 per cent stake in Pevans, says the contract underestimated the SportPesa brand by billions of shillings.
Sportpesa Global afterwards approved Milestone to use the trade name in Kenya knowing that Milestone is owned by Pevans East Africa CEO Ronald Kararuri.
The move came after Pevans discontinued operations following the cancellation of its operating licence in July last year over unpaid taxes and penalties amounting to Sh21.4 billion.
The move finally brought back the famous SportPesa brand by cutting its ties with Pevans’ managerial and tax problems.
“This letter notifies all interested parties that SportPesa Global Holdings Limited, being the registered and beneficial proprietor of the above-stated trademark in Kenya has granted a non-exclusive licence to M/s Milestone Games Limited in connection with the operations of Milestone Games Limited in Kenya,” Ms Kalina Karadzhova, director Sportpesa Global holdings wrote in a letter dated October 26, 2020.
The multinational company allowed the licence to be used for five years before its subsequent renewal.
Milestone then applied to the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), notifying the regulator that it would operate the SportPesa brand.
The regulator approved Milestone to proceed but later dropped the firm’s licence temporarily on October 30 after changes at Milestone management.
BCLB later decided to withdraw the license saying based on its records, SportPesa trade name belonged to Pevans.
Milestone and BCLB now battle in court with the regulator challenging the firm of making significant changes in its business, including ownership without seeking approval as required.
Two Pevans directors Mr Karauri and Francis Waweru Kiarie have acquired a combined 95.3 per cent stake in Milestone through several investment vehicles, replacing the owners who acquired the licence from the regulator.
The shareholders have a different stake at Pevans East Africa with Mr Karauri(7 Percent) and Mr Kiarie (1 Percent)
“It has come to the attention of the board that the shareholding in Milestone Games Limited as at October 22, 2020, when its bookmakers' licence was issued has since been changed in clear breach of the aforementioned operation requirements,” BCLB wrote to Milestone on November 24.
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