The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes at The Hague has ruled that the Kenyan Government does not have to pay any compensation to former World Duty Free (Africa) owner Ibrahim Nassir Ali, after

his shops were seized in Kenya in 1999 and he was deported to Dubai.
Ali has been fighting for Ks.40bn ($500m) in compensation since his duty free businesses at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Mombasa Moi International Airport were seized. He maintained that the shops were seized after he refused to become involved in a diamond export scam [known as Goldenberg-Ed], in which he implicated several senior members of the then Moi Government, including the President's son.
But the court ruled that Ali had no case since his contract was obtained through bribery and it therefore had no legal basis. It also dismissed the claim by Ali's lawyers that the bribe was an ‘independent transaction’ that should not be considered in relation to the seizure of World Duty Free Africa's assets.
Ironically, the decision comes only months after the Kenyan Government said that it was considering settling the matter out of court. But its decision to finally admit that the previous administration had taken a bribe from Ali was pivotal in the court's decision.
Ali admitted he bribed an official more than a year ago, but the government refused to acknowledge this at that time. The law suit was originally filed in the Hague in 2000.