PRAFULCHAND BHARMAL SHAH & RENUKA PRAFUL SHAH V. SHURISH CHANDRA BHARMAL SHAH, NILAM SHURISH SHAH & BANK OF INDIA FINANCE KENYA LTD

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The appellants who are husband and wife instituted a suit against the 1^st and 2^nd respondents who too are husband and wife. The 1^st appellant and the 1^st respondent are brothers, whereas the 2^nd appellant and 2^nd respondent are wives to 1^st appellant and 1^st respondent respectively. The brothers ran a business known as Praful’s Ltd which operated a shop situate on Prudential Building, along Mama Ngina Street in Nairobi. The shop was fronted as a curio shop but in essence the brothers ran an illegal business of foreign currency exchange at a time when such business was controlled and regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya. Under the regime, only licensed persons under the Exchange Control Act (Cap. 113) (now repealed) and the Banking Act could operate such a business. It is an admitted fact that the brothers being unlicensed carried on the business illegally. The business, which is said to have been lucrative, was established in 1981 by the 1^st appellant according …