Over 3,000 investors in the Goldenscape Greenhouses project are calling on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to fast track the arrest and prosecution of two directors of the company for fraud in the loss of Ksh18.6 billion.
The investors issued a 30-day ultimatum to the company seeking to have their money refunded or else they will sue the company and the two directors, Peter Wangai and Irene Mwangi
"We demand swift and stern action to be taken within 30 days, failure to which we are giving our lawyers instructions to commence private prosecution proceedings," announced John Opanda, the chairman of the disgruntled investors.
In 2019, Goldenscape was marketed as a get-rich-quick scheme to investors looking for a viable and lucrative investment avenue through managed greenhouses that promised up to Ksh50,000 per month in returns.
Investors were promised annual returns of Ksh 550,000 for an investment of Ksh 320,000 that would be paid bi-annually.
The first round of investments was successful as investors received their first rollover in a scheme that then attracted more investors including those who injected as much as Ksh60 million in the project.
The following payment was expected to be made in April 2020 and the investors would be expected to continue reaping big returns every six months for the three years that followed if the plan went through.
"It ranges starting from as low as Ksh50,000 because there was a plan for the small person who is struggling to start with the amount. The highest invested was Ksh60 million," explained one of the victims.
More than a year after investors missed their first rollover and have never recouped any of their investments, the group has threatened to sue the company through their private lawyers.
In March 2020, Wangai was arrested by DCI detectives following accusations of defrauding people of billions through his investment company.
"Wangai, through his company, lured investors to invest in greenhouses that were to be set up in Ol Kalou, Nyahururu and other places which turned out to be a fraudulent investment deal," noted DCI at the time.
He was later charged with five counts including the offense of obtaining money by false pretense, conspiracy to defraud, false representation and issuing bad cheques.
Since then, little has been heard about the case as some of the investors struggle to pay back the loans they had taken to finance the fraudulent scheme.
