As part of its efforts to crack down on transnational gold fraud syndicates, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has arrested a Kenyan man who was involved in a scam targeting a Canadian investor, resulting in losses of Ksh80.34 million.
Investigators from the Operations Support Unit (OSU) say the suspect played a central role in a fake gold export deal that defrauded the foreign investor of USD 618,000 - equivalent to around Ksh80.34 million.
Investigators from the DCI report that the suspect lured the investor into a fake gold export deal involving 250 kilograms of gold, which was allegedly set to be shipped to Dubai by private jet.
The incident occurred in April 2025, when the investor received a pro forma invoice for Ksh41.39 million (USD 318,400) from a company.
Assuming the deal was legitimate, the funds were transferred directly into the suspect's account, which had been presented to an escrow facility.
Shortly afterwards, the investor was instructed to send a further Ksh39 million (USD 300,000) in the form of the cryptocurrency USDT to a digital wallet controlled by the syndicate.
''He was later asked to send an additional USDT 300,000 to a cryptocurrency wallet, but no gold was ever delivered,'' DCI officers reported.
The suspect's arrest follows the earlier apprehension of a Cameroonian national suspected to be the syndicate's mastermind.
Consequently, the investigators also arrested another foreigner in a separate but similar gold scam.
A Congolese national appeared at the Milimani Law Courts in connection with a fraudulent gold deal targeting a Gabonese investor.
A Kenyan was also implicated in the matter, having been accused of being part of the orchestrating team. The two men led the investor to their office, where they negotiated and finalised the deal. The investor later transferred Ksh18.2 million (USD 140,000) to an escrow account.
Detectives secured a seven-day custodial order to finalise the investigation, with the case scheduled to be mentioned on August 13.
