MEET THE CONTROVERSIAL BILLIONAIRE BEHIND MODERN COAST BUSES.

Famous businessman Shahid Pervez Butt tragically lost his life in a shooting in July 2014 in the coastal city of Mombasa, close to the Moi International Airport.

The tycoon was traveling at the time with his son by his side when he was involved in the event that resulted in his being shot 25 times. The assailants, nevertheless, spared his son.

Pervez had a contentious existence that ultimately led to his demise and he was once accused of hiding money in the well-known tax haven of the Jersey Islands.

Due to the tycoon’s businesses’ secrecy and mystery, which the public only learned about after his death, the rise of the tycoon to billionaire status was silent.

Pervez, who was well-known for being a strong negotiator, chose to operate his numerous companies personally, including the well-known Modern Coast Company, where he served as managing director.

The transport firm, together with Vantage Point Clearing and Forwarding and Vantage Road Transporters, which is engaged in logistics and clearing operations, was included under his umbrella and has expanded beyond the coastal area to include the entire region.

The Modern Coast Group, the most well-known of the three, was founded in 1985 and has made a name for itself as a comfort-driven luxury transport running throughout important towns and cities in East Africa. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda are all home to it.

The businessman at the time also possessed valuable land tracts, which he gained millions selling to the state in the 1990s as the government disclosed plans to build a road.

His farm had to be crossed by the access road when the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) built a new container port, and a legal dispute followed when he offered Ksh915 million as compensation. It’s unclear if a deal was ultimately reached.

Pervez, however, had multiple encounters with police authorities throughout his business operations after being accused of hiding his fortune in offshore accounts.

The tycoon reportedly stored millions of dollars in Jersey Island and the Bermuda Islands, two well-known tax havens, at the time of his death, and he relished the quiet.

The Mombasa billionaire was accused of supporting and radicalizing local youths at a court appearance in June 2014 for a case involving terrorism.

His two widows and his son engaged in a bitter legal dispute after his death about who would govern the sizeable fortune. Akhtar and Regine Butt were the two widows.

Shares in the family enterprises Modern Coast Express Limited, Vintage Road Transporters, Blue Bell Properties, and a variety of other assets are included in the petition submitted by Shahid’s second wife.

Regine asked a Ksh1.5 million monthly payment in exchange for being allowed to participate in managing the estate. The investigation is underway.

By mkenya leo