Billionaire brothers Sachit and Sarit Shah, owners of I&M Bank, have pocketed an estimated Sh1.7 billion ($20 million) from the sale of shares in the bank before its listing on the Nairobi bourse (NSE) in June.

Both brothers – sons of the bank’s founder, S.B.R Shah – sold a 2.13 percent direct stake of 614,674 shares for an average price of Sh1,395 ($16.4) per share between February and March, shortly before its official listing. Leaving the brothers with a 2.62 percent ownership valued at Sh1 billion ($11.8 million), benchmarked on the trading price from last Friday.

“They sold their direct stakes before the listing of the holding company around March,” said the bank’s head of corporate and strategic planning, Gauri Gupta.

“The trade was normal and part of their investment portfolio management. Their indirect ownership in the holding company remains.”