Two suspects were arrested on Tuesday, March 14, on suspicions of defrauding a US-based citizen in a Ksh15.9 billion gold deal.
In a three-page court document seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the foreigner was introduced to one of the suspects as a businessman dealing in the gold business.
The duo agreed to the Ksh15.9 billion deal whereby the US tycoon was expected to purchase 3,000 kilograms of gold at Ksh5.3 million per kg.
According to the documents, the suspect provided details of a bank account to the foreigner who instructed his bank in the USA to wire Ksh129 million on February 10, 2023,
Confirming receipt of the amount, the suspect promised the foreigner that he would contact him to witness the packaging of the gold in preparation to be transported to Dubai.
The foreigner, who waited in vain for the notification, sought documentation from the suspect in regard to the gold transaction.
According to the complainant, some of the details on the documents such as the customs entry indicated on the declaration form were not genuine.
The US citizen also accused the suspect of threatening to deport him if he raised an alarm on the issue.
"This prompted the foreigner to make a report at DCI Operations Support Unit which report was then booked at Capitol Hill Police station via OB No 2911/03/2023," the statement read in part.
Upon investigations, police officers discovered that the money transferred to the local bank account was wired to other accounts and was handled by the suspect's accomplice.
According to court documents, the investigators arrested the accomplice and recovered a firearm from the vehicle he was driving.
"The first suspect herein on learning that he was being sought, surrendered himself at DCI Headquarters where he was subsequently arrested for interrogation to establish his involvement in a supposedly gold business that there never was," the statement read in part.
Among the key missing links that the detectives seek to finalise before concluding the investigations include recovering the funds that the foreigner wired and recovering the documents that the respondents used as instruments in committing offences subject to forensic analysis.
Others include conducting a forensic analysis on the recovered firearm, recording statements from material witnesses, and conducting identification parades at which the complainant and other persons would attend as witnesses, ascertaining whether the suspect's accomplice is a licensed firearm holder and arresting other suspects in connection with the deal.
According to the documents, the investigators would take 14 days to complete the investigations.
